If you were ever wondering who is behind some of Her Campus’ best music and entertainment articles, look no further than Maddi Ference. If there’s a new album or Netflix movie, Maddi has probably covered it.
Maddi is originally from Pequannock, NJ and is a Journalism and Professional Writing major and English minor at TCNJ. Maddi is graduating this year and credits her friends for being the best part of her college experience. “My favorite part of TCNJ has to be the relationships I have made. I met my best friends freshman year and I am so grateful we have all grown up, supported each other, and become even closer over the past four years.”
Lucky for Maddi, most of her friends won’t be too far away post-grad, so there will still be chances for impromptu meetups. “Some of the best memories I have of TCNJ is our late night spontaneous Wawa runs and conversations about pointless topics and things that don’t matter. The memories I have made with the people I know will one day be the aunts and uncles that aren’t actually related to my future children are arguably my favorite parts of college,” she says.
Since freshman year, Maddi has been been a dedicated member of Her Campus at TCNJ. Name any leadership position, Maddi has probably held it. She even dedicated her senior spring to being the president of HCTCNJ. However her reason for joining the club in the first place was simple, she loves to write.
“I have always loved writing- cliche, I know. I think the initial appeal of Her Campus was the fact that I could write about literally anything. Like, one week I could write about a show I’m watching on Netflix and the next I could write about some heavy hitting topic like mental health. I guess I just had a lot of free time freshman and sophomore year, I wish I still did and I would write about everything and anything. I would always think ‘could I write something about this for Her Campus?’ and half the time I would. Since I loved writing so much I never thought about it as a chore or some inconvenience to write an article, it was easy to become so involved.”
Besides writing, Maddi is also very passionate about music. In fact her superlative for Alpha Xi Delta this year was “Most Likely to Listen to a Band You’ve Never Heard of.” When it comes to her taste in music, Maddi says she can be described as a modern hippie. “I am also a super alternative loving person and Young the Giant has literally gotten me through college, so there isn’t a day when I don’t listen to at least one of their songs,” she says.
Maddi also loves sports, especially the Jets. She’s also a Gritty superfan- the mascot for the Philadelphia Flyers. In fact, several of Maddi’s tweets, and even an HC article have been dedicated to him.
Something you might not know about Maddi is that she has four tattoos, the most significant being a saying in Polish. “My most meaningful tattoo is without a doubt ‘Sto Lat’ on my wrist in my grandmother’s handwriting. Sto Lat is the Polish birthday song, and it means ‘good wishes, good health, and long life.’ My grandma used to sign it in all of my cousin’s, sister’s and my cards over the years…My cousins and siblings all had the unspoken idea of getting this tattooed- somehow we all realized we were all on the same page and then went together one day. It was a really special way to both honor our background but also have a piece of her with us all the time. I love when people ask me about it because I get to talk about my grandma and how much she meant to me, but also teach them a little Polish at the same time!”
Maddi also has a flower, an elephant and the Golden Gate Bridge all of which she got spontaneously. “While every other aspect of my life needs to be planned out or I get super paranoid and stressed, tattoos are the exact opposite. My mindset with tattoos is kind of just a ‘let’s go with this’ attitude- of course, I plan out what I want to get, but I don’t think every tattoo needs to have meaning all the time.”
After graduation, Maddi is keeping busy. She’ll be attending Her Conference, a leadership conference for young women, in Los Angeles. She is also visiting France in the fall, “I need to start shopping for berets and teach myself some French,” she says. And after working so hard for four years, Maddi is definitely deserving of a vacation. Congratulations on graduating and for your successful term as HC President! We can’t wait to see what the future has in store for you.
All Images Courtesy of Maddi Ference