Welcome to Woman Crush Wednesday with Katie and Harley, where every other week we interview a member of our chapter of Her Campus to highlight why they are awesome.
This week, Margaret Engel, Editorial Contributor!
Photo Courtesy of Margaret Engel
Majors: Drama, Global Studies, and Geography
Hometown: Syracuse, NY
Top 5 Songs: “These Eyes” by The Guess Who
“Angel from Montgomery” by John Prine
“Lethal Combination” by The Wombats
“Cigarette Daydreams” by Cage the Elephant
“Kids” by M.G.M.T.
Zodiac Sign: Cancer
Member Since: 2019
Now, you might be thinking, “Did these kids mean to type three majors?” The answer is yes. Although Margaret has only two majors currently, she plans on adding a third major soon. “I had to take a couple of geography classes freshman year and I realized that I really, really was interested in learning about how the world works. I like geography because it’s a really versatile major and you kind of learn about everything and anything in the context of the movement of people and ideas. I just wanted to learn more. So I had the room in my schedule and I decided to pick up a third major.” On how being a drama major integrates with all this, Margaret is always ready to go off. “So, I really like drama and I liked studying drama because I think that it’s kind of just the purest form of human expression and storytelling. I think that art has such a huge place in describing the human condition over the years. Theatre is always a reflection of the time from which it came. So I think that having that global context of theater is really useful in learning about why the world works the way it does. And I think theater can be really healing and constructive in a community. So that’s why I’m really interested in theater activism, and that’s why I study what I do.”
Margaret finds herself being more drawn to musicals over straight plays, saying, “Musicals, I feel, appeal more to the masses. They can be, you know, these gigantic, huge productions that are so colorful and vibrant and fun. And I feel like that’s the best way to appeal to people who don’t really know what theater is because it’s just this amazing spectacle.” Incorporating this into her already expansive idea of globalization, Margaret sees this wide sharing of a passion and amazement as a great way to bring people together for the better.
On the non-theatrical side of globalization, Margaret has taken two classes at Hofstra that have really helped her stir up her love for Global Studies, those classes being Human Rights, and the more formative class in her eyes, Human Trafficking. Margaret recommends this class to everyone she meets and has used this class to really develop an idea and scope of oppression, specifically the unfair, terrible and ongoing oppression of women. “Human trafficking is happening literally everywhere. I think human trafficking stems down to the oppression of women. You know, oppression of women is commonly found in art, theater, literature, politics, and social interactions. Through my college career, I’ve really found my love for advocating for women’s rights because I think it’s a really important topic and it’s more important than ever in the 21st century.” Margaret wants to use her passion and love for history and women’s rights to try and push forward the conversation surrounding the topic, and she wants to do everything in her power to try and help people who are being oppressed.
Margaret has also used her Global Studies major to open herself up to new experiences and expand her scope of the world. Anyone who has ever had the gift of interacting with Margaret has absolutely heard her say “Peace and love,” Margaret’s catchphrase, some may say. “The only way to live your life is just by trying to like…be a good person.” This idea for Margaret is reinforced by past experiences, including her days in high school, her days in class and her time studying abroad on the European Odyssey. “Living my life with that motto has really, really helped me emotionally.”
This semester, Margaret decided to get even more involved on campus. Margaret has become a writer for both Hofstra Today and Her Campus, as well as joining the History Club, and Get Global, the global studies group on campus. Margaret is also part of Masquerade, a musical theater club on campus that does a musical review in the fall, as well as a full musical in the spring. Being part of masquerade also includes helping with senior thesis shows, and our very own Margaret got cast in a thesis about feminism that is going to be performed May 5th!
When asked about what or who her biggest inspirations are in her life, Margaret gives this label to her siblings. Margaret’s sister Sarah is a marketing major who is graduating this year, and as Margaret said, “she is my inspiration in life.” Her older brother, Matthew, is an MD Ph.D., meaning he is getting his doctorate while also becoming a licensed doctor. Margaret said, “He is the smartest person I’ve ever met in my entire life.” Margaret visits her brother periodically in the Bronx where he lives and studies at Albert Einstein University. “Matthew and Sarah, if you’re reading this, I love you.”
Photo Courtesy of Margaret Engel
We loved getting to know more about Margaret, and we hope you did too! Join us again in two weeks to get to know another member of Her Campus Hofstra!