Name: Maddie Massa
Year: junior
Major: physics
Hometown: Shoreham, NY
HCSB: What are all the activities you are involved with on campus?
Maddie: “I’m an RA (in Benedict); I work for the athletic department in marketing; I’m a stage manger for game day, in NRHH and a university scholar.”
HCSB: How did you get involved in those?
Maddie: “I applied for an RA position my freshman year after I had participated in hall council. I was an RHA representative that led to being nominated in its sister organization, NRHH. My job in athletics is stemming from an internship I got after my supervisor came into my 102 class… and became a marketing intern my sophomore year. I was a university scholar upon admission to the school, and I became the outreach committee co-chair for two semesters.”
HCSB: How have all these activities changed your Stony Brook experience? Better? Worse? Just Busier?
Maddie: “Absolutely better. They give me different viewpoints on different things, different ideas and ways of thinking. I love each and every one of them in their own right. The involvement and the people that I have met have made Stony Brook the home away from home that everyone hopes college is.”
HCSB: What is some advice you can give to someone looking to be more involved?
Maddie: “Definitely talk to people, ask questions, be yourself – very important – but also know your limits. Know if you want to get involved, do some research on it, figure out if this is something you want to do or try. Don’t be afraid to try it and say, ‘Hmm, I don’t really like it.’ It just shows what you don’t want to do and then gives you the option to try something else.”
HCSB: Is there anyone here at Stony Brook that has helped you or guided you along the way?
Maddie: “Sam Soren, who was my RHD when I was a freshman, became my supervisor as an RA and now is the (H) Quad director, definitely has had an influence on guiding me in different directions. Chris Murray, my supervisor for athletics, is absolutely fantastic. He’s very charismatic, but also very into making sure you know where you’re going and what you want to do. He will take that minute to sit down and talk to you to make sure you’re all right. Those two, off the top of my head, have made my experience here.”
HCSB: What kind of legacy do you hope to leave?
Maddie: “In high school it was just kind of ‘everyone knows Maddie.’ I would say hi to everybody and stuff like that, so I think the kind of legacy I want to leave is not in one particular area so I’m not just Maddie the RA or Maddie who works for athletics. Just in general, a face that you see on campus and want to say hi to. Somebody who is genuinely interested in what she is doing and what everyone else was doing as well.”