As many of the learners from our Readiness Institute Summer Program know, our connection doesn’t just end after the summer. We continue to stay in touch with learners when they go back for their senior year, after they graduate high school, and beyond. We recently checked in with some of the young adults who were a part of program and have now graduated high school and are on to their next steps of adulthood.
Madeleine Whitewolf
Where are you now?
I am starting my first year at Ohio Northern University for mechanical engineering and sound recording technology.
What do you enjoy most about where you are now?
I really like the kind, engaging, and encouraging community that this school provides.
How has your life changed since the Readiness Institute?
The Readiness Institute has opened up a lot of opportunities for me to advocate for women in STEM, both locally and nationally. I have made some lifelong professional connections that I hope will help me change the world one day.
What is your favorite memory of the Readiness Institute?
I really enjoyed volunteering at Sunny’s Community Garden. We had so much fun painting the fences and stepping stones, and we learned a lot about the local community and how we can become more involved.
What advice or message do you have for your fellow Readiness Institute alums?
Take things one step at a time. College, for me, has been very overwhelming and stressful, but I found that I don’t have to do everything all at once. I allow myself to take my time and do one thing at a time that will lead me in the right direction.
What’s one thing on your bucket list — personally or professionally — that you would like to check off in the next five years?
I would like to be successful. To me, success is about being a better person than you were the day or week or month before. Whether that involves you learning something new about a subject or a person, making mistakes and being able to learn and grow from them, reaching a goal or milestone, or just having a more positive outlook on life. Success to me would be overcoming my fears and challenging myself to become braver and more open-minded.