Catching up with 2008 Valedictorian Madeleine Jensen
When Madeleine Jensen walked off the stage at last June’s Huntington High School commencement exercises no one in the crowd of more than 2,000 had the slightest bit of doubt that the Class of 2008 valedictorian would thrive at Columbia University, and that’s just what has happened.
Through four years of high school, Ms. Jensen never met a challenge she didn’t eventually master. Whether it be the most difficult AP courses, a prestigious internship at world-renowned Cold Spring Harbor Lab, the Blue Devil crew team or Huntington’s Habitat for Humanity club, Ms. Jensen reached for the stars and set a standard of excellence that was admired by classmates, teammates and teachers.
That same thirst for knowledge, sense of adventure and call to service has continued for Ms. Jensen at Columbia. She is taking advantage of all that the Morningside Heights campus and New York City has to offer and she hasn’t looked back on her decision to go to school there.
“I absolutely love Columbia,” Ms. Jensen said. “There are so many incredible opportunities available to me here that it is often hard to choose between the options. This semester I am taking General Chemistry, Calculus III, French, and two of the core classes - Literature Humanities and University Writing. My French class is by far my favorite. We are reading the poetry of Ronsard, Rimbaud, Baudelaire, and Eluard, as well as a few short stories. The professor is very energetic and the class rarely fails to put me in high spirits for the rest of the day.”
At Huntington High School, Ms. Jensen sparkled as a musician, historian, club president, cancer researcher, coxswain on the high school crew team and all-around academic wunderkind. She hasn’t missed a beat at Columbia either.
“In a few weeks I will be selecting classes for next semester, and I am most excited about a course called Mind, Brain, and Behavior that I plan on taking,” Ms. Jensen said. “I entered Columbia as a biochemistry major, but I am also considering a major in neuroscience and behavior with a possible concentration in French or chemistry.”
“Madeleine’s high school record speaks for itself,” Huntington Superintendent John J. Finello said. “She met every challenge and did it with a modesty and gentle nature that really endeared her to the rest of the student body and the faculty.”
Columbia and its location in what many refer to as “the greatest city in the world” seems to be the perfect fit for Ms. Jensen. “The city is an amazing place to go to college,” she said. “On the weekends my friends and I go to Broadway shows, museums, concerts, and lectures, all of which are only a subway ride away and discounted for Columbia students. We have been to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the MoMA, attended a reading and Q & A session with Augusten Burroughs, and created our own chocolate tour of Manhattan. On September 11th, I sat with 7,500 people on the steps of Low Library to watch Barack Obama and John McCain on Service Nation. It was remarkable to be on campus that day, knowing that the next president of the United States was there.”
Just as she did in high school, Ms. Jensen is diving into activities outside of the classroom. “Every other week, I bake with a group of students from Barnard and Columbia in the ‘Sweet Suite’ to raise money for local charities,” Ms. Jensen said. “I am also in the swing dance club with a few of the people on my floor, which I’ve found to be a perfect way to relax before my hectic Thursdays. In addition to continuing my work with Habitat for Humanity, I am on the registration committee for CCO (Columbia Community Outreach), an organization that plans a day of local community service each spring with about 1,000 volunteers. I hope to expand my volunteer work by participating in the College Democrats’ Alternative Spring Break, which sends groups of students to New Orleans and West Virginia during Columbia’s spring recess in March.”
The melting pot that is Huntington High School seems to have prepared Ms. Jensen well for the Columbia campus. “It is incredible to be surrounded by people who come from such rich and diverse backgrounds,” she said. “Speaking to my classmates has already broadened my perspectives and made me challenge ideas that are presented to me in a new way. Both Columbia and New York City offer innumerable learning opportunities, and I am looking forward to taking advantage of all that I can.”
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