Meet Madison Russell, an example of the type of person who leaves a place better than she found it. Now wrapping up her junior year of college, Madison has accumulated quite the list of accomplishments. Originally from Clearwater Florida, Madison came to UCF to pursue a Master’s degree in Health Services Administration. She one day hopes to be a nursing home administrator. Until then, she makes change at UCF one extracurricular at a time.
Madison started at UCF in the LEAD Scholars Academy, where she was able to build upon her already-present leadership skills. During her second year in LEAD, she was also able to serve as a peer mentor to freshman entering the same academy. This meant she helped new students navigate the struggles and successes of college, and became a role model for them. A year later, she still checks up on her mentees and remembers being a peer mentor very fondly.
Also during her freshman year, Madison began her experience as a UCF Majorette. She performed at football games and cheered on the school as a baton twirler. She started twirling at a very young age with the hopes of one day twirling on a college field. She has now been a UCF Majorette for three years, and has thoroughly enjoyed her experience. Twirling at her first home football game is still one of Madison’s most memorable experiences at UCF.
After conquering freshman year, Madison became even more involved. At the beginnings of her sophomore year, she began working at the UCF Student Union as a Guest Services associate, helping students at the All Knight Study Locations and printing labs. Later that year, Madison was promoted to being a Guest Services Supervisor at All Knight Study. Now she works as a Guest Services Supervisor at the Information Desk in the Student Union, helping both prospective and current students every day.
During her junior year, Madison was the UCF Homecoming Royalty Director. “As royalty director I was in charge of all things that involved the homecoming court. This included constructing applications, recruiting judges to help with the selection process, planning interviews, facilitating meetings, and making sure that they were everywhere they needed to be during homecoming week. The homecoming court called me “Mom” more than they called me Madison. Working with the homecoming court during the weeks leading up to homecoming and homecoming week was an amazing experience. The homecoming court consisted of some of the most involved students on campus and they were all so inspiring to me. They really exemplified what it truly means to be a UCF Knight,” said Madison. She has been selected as the Royalty Director for the second year in a row, and she is excited to build off of her experiences last year. Another huge perk of being on the Homecoming Executive team is getting to throw ducks to the roaring crowd of UCF students at Spirit Splash.
As if being a Majorette, having a job, and being the Royalty Director wasn’t enough, Madison also joined the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) Student Advisory Board, and became a 4EVER KNIGHTS Ambassador. As part of the ACHE Student Advisory Board, Madison gets to collaborate with different organizations on campus and advance professionally in preparation for her future career. As a 4EVER KNIGHTS Ambassador, it’s Madison’s job to educate students on the importance of maintaining a relationship with UCF after graduation, and act as a student representative of the UCF Advancement Office.
Now going into her senior year, Madison is topping off her college experience with one of the most prestigious groups on campus. She was recently selected to serve on the President’s Leadership Council, commonly known as PLC. On PLC, she and other students will receive training in leadership, administration, and public relations, all while acting as professional student ambassadors at special events such as commencements, Board of Trustees’ meetings, Board of Governors’ meetings, and Gubernatorial visits.
It might sound like Madison is all work and no play, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Madison is very professional and poised, but there is much more to her than just her campus involvement. The more you get to know Madison, you will learn that honesty, friendship, and dedication are very important to her. She lives by the quote, “People will forget what you said, forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Some other important facts about Madison are that she loves ranch dressing and cheese fries, is a huge Tim Tebow fan, and loves listening to Jack Johnson and Drake.
While juggling all of her hugely impactful responsibilities, Madison never forgets to be funny, humble, and kind. Madison brings endless amounts of happiness and positivity into the lives of others, and UCF is very lucky to have her.