First-year Madilyn Henshaw poses outside of the Washington Memorial in Washington, D.C. The Business Administration major said she looks forward to studying abroad in Lausanne, Switzerland, or Florence, Italy.
Photos courtesy of Madilyn Henshaw
First-year Business Administration major Madilyn Henshaw from Arlington, Va., said she is ready for the chance to utilize her college experience to find her calling.
“I want to learn something that makes me think, ‘Oh yeah, I want to do that for a career,’” Henshaw said.
Coming from a large high school, Henshaw said Pepperdine’s small class size drew her to the University.
“You get to know your professors more than through an academic standard — academically and personally,” Henshaw said.
Henshaw said she hopes she can utilize the smaller class size to more easily build relationships with both students and professors. While she is not sure what her calling is yet, this potential for mentorship gives her space to find it.
“I honestly don’t even know what my dream job is,” Henshaw said. “I have no idea what career path I want to follow, and I’m hoping I’ll take a class that’ll really spark my interest in something.”
Henshaw said one way she plans to find her calling is through International Programs. She is in the process of applying, and her top program is Lausanne, Switzerland.
“I’ve talked to a couple of people who have gone abroad to Lausanne, and they all absolutely loved it and they made me really want to go too,” Henshaw said. “Lausanne is the perfect combination of the outdoors and city life. It is also in the middle of Europe, which makes it easy to travel to other places.”
Another top choice of Henshaw’s is the Florence, Italy program.
“Florence was my second choice because I’ve been there before so I know how beautiful the city is, but I’ve never been to Switzerland,” Henshaw said.
Henshaw is also on Pepperdine’s track team as a sprinter; she runs the 400m. Henshaw ran as a sprinter in high school before coming to Pepperdine.
“My teammates were definitely my favorite part of high school track,” Henshaw said. “I love the bond that you create with your teammates while pushing yourselves to your limits and then being able to see the results of your hard work out on the track.”
Additionally, Henshaw recently joined Pi Beta Phi, a sorority dedicated to friendship and community service. She said she hopes the upper-level students in the sorority will offer her insight into choosing a vocation that inspires her.
“It’s a fun way to meet older Pepperdine girls and form relationships with them before even getting on campus,” Henshaw said.
Henshaw is eager for the chance to interact with Pepperdine students face to face— not just through a screen.
“I’m excited to just meet people,” Henshaw said. “It’s hard to do that on Zoom, I feel, just to meet people and to build those friendships and actually get to know the professors.”
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Email Samantha Torre: sam.torre@pepperdine.edu
