Madeline Clare Streilein
Major: Human Development and Psychology
Year: 2018
Home State: North Carolina
As a freshman at Eckerd College, Madeline is already making an impact, particularly through her fall semester internship at the Edible Patch Garden. She is an aspiring teacher and after Eckerd, she hopes to go on and obtain her Master’s in Education. She strongly believes that education is one of the most important parts of a child’s life. Madeline hopes to teach both elementary and middle school. Her inspiration to become a teacher was her sixth grade teacher. They developed a close relationship and continue to talk to this day.
Also, Madeline is one of the driving forces behind the Vagina Monologues. You’ve probably heard people talking about them, but don’t really know what it is. The Vagina Monologues is a play written by Eve Ensler. The play consists of various monologues read by different women depicting female experiences that include sex, love, rape, menstruation, masturbation, pregnancy, orgasms, etc. The monologues were chosen with the intent to not only relate to Eckerd students, but to also educate them on the issues that affect women around the world not just on campus. The play encourages people to break down social boundaries, gender roles, and double standards in our society.
Madeline believes that it is important for women to be comfortable with who they are. She hopes that the production will get people talking about taboo issues and double standards. Along with co-producing the event, she will also be participating in the production by introducing the monologues with her Service Learning partner, Andrea Martin. Madeline will be helping introduce the women performing the monologues. She admitted that she is nervous as she’s not one for public speaking and one of the words she has to say is “clitoris”. The play uses many words that one doesn’t hear every day. For instance, the word “penis” is heard often, but you never really hear someone say “clitoris”. She wants the audience to realize that being a woman is nothing to be ashamed of and they should be proud. Her passion and openness to this experience is admirable.
The production is on February 14th at 7 pm in Miller Auditorium. It is also a CPS event. I hope to see you guys there! It’s going to be a great show!