Name: Madison Hobbs
Year: Freshman (Class of 2018)
Major/Minor: Biomedical science with an emphasis in genetics
Hometown: Concord, NC
Relationship Status: Single
Favorite Food: Sushi/ Chocolate
HC(Her Campus): So, what brought you to Mary Baldwin?
MH(Madison Hobbs): Duke college sent me an email about MBC after I took the SAT in their talent search program in seventh grade. After that my mom looked at the site and saw that they had a program for people just like me. (Honestly I thought she’d never follow through with looking at it.)
HC: Did you find the transition into the PEG program to be easy, or challenging?
MH: It was a lot easier for me than for some other people. I got along well with everybody and was kind of relieved to be out of the house, even though I started missing my family soon. I also think it’s because Staunton is a small town just like the one I live in so it wasn’t too big of a change.
HC: What are the best and worst things about PEG, in your opinion?
MH: We’re so confined! Curfew! Study hours! One-mile limit off campus! That’s probably the only thing I have a problem with. The best part is that I’m finally around people who think like me and who I don’t have to try to impress.
HC: So I know you’re an avid horseback rider, can you tell me about that? What got you into it? How long have you been doing it?
MH: I’ve been riding since I was about… four? I’ve always loved horses and other animals, but you know you can’t throw a saddle on a cat. (laughs) I’ve ridden on and off for the last decade, but I only started showing about two years ago. Already though I’m up to two and a half foot fences and can canter into them almost flawlessly. It’s a great way to unwind. During Hell week I’m almost nowhere to be found because I’m riding, hanging out, or working at the barn. I quite honestly feel more at home out with the horses than in PEG, but hey, what are you gonna do?
HC: What’s your favorite horseback riding memory?
MH: Haha, probably when I was hospitalized for the first time this summer. The horse I was riding stopped short and I kept going so I flipped around and landed flat on my back and had to go get an X-Ray and they gave me some of the dopey medicine. Honestly as weird as it sounds my favorite moments are my falls. It’s an awe-inspiring experience to see this 1,000 pound animal passing right over your head and even though they hurt, you learn from your falls. You figure out what went wrong, and then you literally get back on the horse.
HC: What are your May Term plans? Are you going anywhere special, staying at Mary Baldwin, or going home?
MH: I’m going to London, England this May Term to “study” creative writing. I could not be more excited! I’ve wanted to go to London ever since I was a little kid, and now I have the opportunity and the only thing I have to turn in is a story. I love writing, so this is going to be a piece of cake. I’m most excited to meet Benedict Cumberbatch and Andrew Scott only three days after we fly in. The official BBC Sherlock convention starts three days after we get there so we were incredibly lucky to get tickets.
HC: As your first year at Mary Baldwin comes to a close, what would you say was your favorite moment shared at school, or with your fellow Mary Baldwin students?
MH: When PEG took us on a trip to King’s Dominon I’d never ridden a roller coaster before. I tried it and absolutely loved it, and I’d happily do it again.