The Malone Family Foundation provides scholarship endowments to select independent secondary schools in the country. Charlotte Latin School is proud to be part of the Malone Scholars Program, where each year we are able to award scholarships to top students who are motivated to excel, but lack the resources to fund such an education.
Madeleine Fish ’14 came to Charlotte Latin as a distinguished Malone Scholar. Madeleine took full advantage of her time at Latin, and since graduation, her educational pursuits have taken her across the country and around the world to St. Louis, Geneva, Boston, and now, New York, where she is a first-year medical student at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons.
Madeleine took a break from exams to catch up with us about her life after Latin, and what advice she’d give today’s students.
When did you come to Latin?
I started at Latin in eighth grade after being awarded the Malone Scholarship. If it weren’t for this financial aid, I would not have had the privilege of attending this institution!
Tell us a bit about your journey after Latin – where did you go to school? Where have you lived or traveled?
After Latin, I attended college at Washington University in St. Louis, where I majored in Anthropology: Global Health and the Environment. I had the opportunity to live abroad in Geneva, Switzerland, for a semester studying Global Health and Development Policy. I participated in research in several different domains, including immunology and anthropology. After graduation, I lived in Boston for two years working as a Clinical Research Coordinator at Massachusetts General Hospital working in gastrointestinal cancer clinical trials.
I am currently a first-year medical student at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons with the goal of going into pediatric oncology.
Looking back, how would you describe the impact of your education at Latin?
Without Latin, I would never have had the resources and opportunities that I needed to get to the place I am today. My college counselor helped me find the Moog fellowship at Washington University at St. Louis, which is the reason I was able to attend that school at all!
In short, Latin exposed me to ways in which I could exercise my full potential.
Did a faculty member/s help guide or influence where you are today? How and why?
So many faculty members influenced my time at Latin, even if they didn’t directly teach a subject that I ended up pursuing professionally. Some names that come to mind are Buck Butler, Karen McQuaid, Jessie Sellner, CW Stacks, Mike Weiss, Richard Harris, and Chris Cudabac. Reflecting on my time at Latin, I am realizing just how many people stood out during my experience and went the extra mile to help me learn their subject. They cultivated in me a love for learning, such that when I went to college I was interested in so many subjects that I had a hard time narrowing down a major. In hindsight, this approach was far more valuable than coming in with a narrow idea of what I wanted to do.
Did you have a favorite class?
My favorite class was Latin V AP with Ms. McQuaid. Even though I did not end up pursuing a degree or career in Classics, I grew a deep appreciation of language, translation, and literature. I also appreciated the cohort of ten or eleven students who took Latin for all five years. We grew in learning together, participated in Classics-related extracurricular activities, and spent countless hours together over the years. Ms. McQuaid made it a collaborative learning environment and ignited the passion in so many of us that would last for years to come.
As you reflect back on your time at Latin, can you describe what the Malone Scholarship meant to you and your family?
The Malone Scholarship meant that I had the opportunity to access college counseling, to learn Latin, to go to a school where teachers encouraged me day in and day out. I can honestly say that without these resources, I have no sense of where I would be today. I was given the chance to learn subjects I would never have had a chance to study, in an environment where all the teachers genuinely wanted me to thrive. I have been so fortunate that this school put me on track to be in a similar educational environment for the years following. I hope one day in my medical practice to incorporate the sort of supportive mentorship that I received at Latin in training my future students.
Piece of advice for Latin students today?
My best advice would be to lean in as much as possible to the experience. By making the most of every opportunity, you are really taking advantage of everything Latin has to offer. Go to office hours, join a club for something you have never tried before, and take a class for something you think you have no intention of pursuing in the future. High school and college are the time to try new things, so take advantage of being at such an incredible school!