2024-Madaleine Perry
Madaleine Perry
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Dual Degree: Theater
GPA: 3.58
THESIS TOPIC
Experimentally Simulating and Analyzing Bubble Dynamics and Nucleation in Magma
PERSONAL STATEMENT
When I first arrived at Lafayette for my tour, I was skeptical. Does the challenge presented by ‘Cur non?’ not create a breeding ground for competition? Within the hour, however, I began to see who I could become if I made the leap.
Four-and-a-half years, a global pandemic, and many core memories later, I write to you with a new perspective. The idea behind the ‘why not?’ presented to us at every turn is one with pure intentions, encouraging instead of argumentative. When I was accepted to Lafayette as a Chemistry major, I quickly questioned why I wasn’t trying something new. By the end of my freshman spring, I declared as a Mechanical Engineering major pursuing a dual degree in Theater. After meeting my professors in-person for the first time in February 2021, I just knew I was going to pave a new road with their help.
My professors have always been my biggest fans. They have pushed me to do some amazing things, like join the Dog House and raise service puppies, or create my own version of my degrees to encapsulate my true interests. To every quandary I presented, I was met with a supportive ‘well…why not?’ helping me become the person I am today. I believe I have transformed into the Lafayette Ideal by indulging in my passions academically and personally, and encouraging others to do the same. I know I have made a lasting impact on Lafayette, just as living here has on me. I will proudly hold the ‘why not?’ inquisition with me for the rest of my life, and hope that my adherence to this ideal is clear to you when reviewing my credentials. Thank you, Lafayette, for helping me grow into a person better than I could have dreamed to be when I first walked this campus in 2019.
OTHER INFORMATION
I would like to take this opportunity to extend my sincerest thank you to all of my professors over the last four years. You have all been my guiding lights, and I would not be where I am today without your love and support. Thank you for believing in me, and teaching me to do the same along the way. I will forever be indebted to you all, and sincerely hope you’ll let me keep in touch after May 19th.
ACADEMIC ACTIVITY/AWARD
Theater and Engineering Fellow- Spring 2024
I applied and was selected after an interview process to be a Theater and Engineering Fellow for the Spring 2024 semester, alongside Lily Groff ‘25. Advised by Alex Owens, the Technical Director/Production Manager of Buck Hall, and Prof. Rosario in Mechanical Engineering, we were tasked with one portion of the set to fully draft, create construction drawings for, conduct safety analyses, and lead construction groups when building. All of our work has gone towards The Book Club Play, directed by Prof. Mary Jo Lodge.
Mechanical Engineering Honors Thesis Candidate- 1
I am working on an interdisciplinary (Mechanical Engineering and Geology) honors thesis combining my love for engineering and my passion for expanding engineering knowledge into spaces where it otherwise would not extend. My work will serve as a catalyst for better understanding the causes of explosive volcanic eruptions, potentially helping keep millions of people who live within range of an active volcano safe. I am working in a geology lab in
collaboration with several geologists on experimentally forcing bubble vesiculation in obsidians with different chemical compositions, both natural and synthetic. This project is supported by NSFGEO-NERC grant #2211680, and UK NERC grant NE/X016668/1.
Theater Department Senior Project: Technical Direction- 2 years
For my senior capstone in theater, I am serving as the technical director for the student showcase we are producing. This role will utilize skills I have learned and bettered during the Theater and Engineering Fellowship to help the run of the show go smoothly. I will also be selecting and keeping track of all props used, and completing several other production management-based tasks that arise as the rehearsal process continues.
VolcaNYC 2024 Presenter- 1
I was able to present my thesis research at 2024’s VolcaNYC conference, held at Rutgers University. I gave a 2-minute overview talk to about 50 volcanologists, and answered questions during the following poster session. I was the only undergraduate student who was in attendance, with all others in graduate school or professors at universities and colleges local to the New York City area.
Northeastern GSA Presenter
I will be presenting my thesis research at the 2024 Northeastern Geological Society of America conference in March, held in New Hampshire. I’ll have a poster alongside a handful of Lafayette Geology students, as my abstract was selected and approved by the GSA Conference board.
Dean’s List- 2 years
I have been on the Dean’s List for 3 of my 7 semesters so far.
1826 Trustee Scholarship Fund- 1
Awarded in February 2022.
Marquis Award- 4 years
Awarded when accepted into Lafayette.
Lafayette College Grant- 1
Awarded when accepted into Lafayette. Requirements changed after returning to campus
for Fall 2021.
Alpha Psi Omega National Theater Honor Society- 2 years
Inducted in Spring 2023.
CAMPUS SERVICE ACTIVITY/AWARD
Pottery Club- 3 years
I was a club member my sophomore year, promoted to Vice President my junior year, and promoted again to Co-President my senior year. I routinely host open studio hours for students to come and enjoy working with clay, and have taught between 10-20 students how to throw pieces on the pottery wheel. I have taken this love home with me, and have joined a pottery studio local to my house to keep up on my skills and meet others with this same passion.
LaFarm Volunteer- 1 year
I volunteered at LaFarm several times during my sophomore year, but have been unable to get back to the farm due to scheduling conflicts. I helped weed several beds of plants, as well as harvest fresh crops to be sold at the farm stand.
Lafayette Happiness Project- 3 years
I have attended many club meetings and events, including but not limited to the therapy dog events during finals week, and placing notes of affirmation around campus.
Yarn Club- 1 year
I attend as many of the weekly meetings as I am able, and crochet! I’ll also be helping over the course of the semester to make hats and blankets for cancer patients and NICU babies with other club members.
Mechanical Engineering Department Faculty Search Committee Representative- Spring 2023
I was selected by the department to serve as a student interviewer for tenure track positions that needed to be filled. I met with each candidate alongside 1-3 other students to ask questions and answer anything about Lafayette from a student’s perspective. We spent between 30-45 minutes with each candidate, then sent our thoughts and suggestions to the department head for his review and consideration when making selections.
Theater Department Faculty Search Committee Representative- 2 years
I was selected by the department to serve as a student interviewer for tenure track and visiting positions that needed to be filled. I met with each candidate alongside 1-3 other students to ask questions and answer anything about Lafayette from a student’s perspective, as well as attend a lecture or mock rehearsal by each candidate. We spent between about an hour and a half with each candidate, then sent our thoughts and suggestions to the department for their collaborative review and consideration when making choices.
American Society of Mechanical Engineers Club- 2 years
I have been a club member for two years, frequently attending club events such as Fuel Ups, whenever my schedule allows. I was also recently included in their bingo card during National Engineers Week 2024, for consistently sitting at a corner table outside of the Professor Office Hallway on the 2nd floor of Acopian.
Society of Women Engineers Club Member- 3 years
I have been a SWE club member for all four years. I was selected to go to the WE23 conference in Fall 2023 to represent Lafayette Engineering, with nine of my peers. In addition, I attend meetings and activities, including brunches during finals weeks, and introducing local Girl Scouts to engineering by hosting them in Acopian and guiding them through fun projects. Marshmallow and spaghetti towers are a classic!
Arts Society Member- 3 years
As a member of the arts society, I have attended general body meetings and several events, including but not limited to the annual Block PARTy and Broadway trips. I have been a full member for three years.
COMMUNITY SERVICE
Canine Partners for Life Student Volunteer- 3 years
I am a Volunteer at Canine Partners for Life through my work at the Dog House, and served as a Primary Dog Handler my sophomore year. I have served as an outside helper to the house my junior and senior years. I frequently travel to CPL’s campus for dog visitation and training sessions. I have been lucky enough to see two of the dogs I worked with my sophomore year (Bando and Hershey) graduate into full service (medicalalert) and home companion dogs, respectively. Always ask before petting a dog!
ATHLETIC ACTIVITY/AWARD
Intermural Volleyball- 1 year
I played on the club volleyball team for a couple of weeks my sophomore year, and decided to switch to intramural after feeling an old injury flare.
SPECIAL INTEREST/ACTIVITY AWARD
Student Technical Assistant- 2 years
I worked alongside the Production Manager of the Williams Center for the Arts, Drew, to prepare for touring groups and other performances utilizing the stage space. I primarily served as a rigger since I have prior experience, but helped with anything I was able to, including lighting, basic construction, and electrician work. I had to step out of this position due to my schedule consistently being in conflict with when I was needed in the space.
Marquis Players- 1.5 years
During the 2021-2022 school year, I was consistently involved with the Marquis Players production of Legally Blonde. I participated in the show as a construction crew lead and one of two spotlight operators, so most of my contributions were focused into the Spring 2022 semester. Alongside Eleanor Williams ‘22 and Thalia Newman ‘23, I worked semi-constantly for the month before the show to construct, paint, decorate, and generally prepare the set for the coming show. There were other crew members and leads that participated and helped throughout the endeavor, especially when any of the three of us had to be somewhere else. Once the set was complete, I stayed in the spot booth with Kara Lyn Moran ‘22, where we each were tasked with lighting several different characters throughout the performance. After the run, I helped lead the strike of the set to the extent I was able. In the Fall 2022 semester, I completed the newly-instated tasks to become a full member of the club, including participating in philanthropy events and attending general body meetings. I was originally slated to be the Scenic Designer/Technical Director, but I had to back down at the start of the Spring 2023 semester due to scheduling conflicts and not feeling confident that I could dedicate enough time to Footloose as the production deserved.
Production Assistant- 4 years
As a Scene Shop/Production Assistant, I work with a team of my peers on projects assigned to us by the Technical Director/Production Manager, Alex Owens. I am typically trusted to work on my own project or lead a team to complete an aspect of the set construction, painting, lighting focus, or whatever needs to be done on any given day. I frequently take on extra shifts to help ensure the production happening in the black box theater is able to run as smoothly as possible. This year, I am the only student who has been working in the shop for all four years, which is an accomplishment I am very proud of.
Lafayette College Theater Department- 4 years
While this has most likely shone through my other responses, I’d like to detail a bit more of my experience in the Lafayette Theater Department. As a second semester freshman, I decided that I wanted to add Theater as a second (dual) degree. Except, I was crippled by the knowledge that I would have to act. I have pretty severe anxiety, something that I am very open about, and have refused to act after my first experience with doing so in 6th grade. I chose to go the route of trying to create my own degree path for Technical Theater, to avoid acting and gain the skills I wanted to focus on. In consultation with about half of the department faculty, we decided to adapt the degree to encapsulate what I truly care about, and help me avoid what I truly will never pursue. We had copious meetings going through my three-year plan with many a degree audit, and came to an agreement that we all were pleased with. Infinitely many scheduling problems, two instances of taking two courses with overlapping scheduled times at once, and many, many meetings later, I am reaching my goals. I’d like to extend my gratitude to Alex Owens, Prof. Mary Jo Lodge, and Prof. Suzanne Westfall for understanding why some of my emails were so strongly worded, and being willing to work with and support me on my path here. I love you three so deeply, and will never let our efforts go unacknowledged.
The Dog House- 3 years
The Dog House, located on Monroe Street, is a Living Learning Community house with theintention of training and educating those on campus, as well as puppies training to be service dogs. During the 2021-2022 school year, I lived in the house with two housemates, helping train two dogs during the year Due to COVID-19 effects, we weren’t able to get puppies until the spring semester, so we offered to serve as a healing home for a pup who had an ear infection and needed a place to go to heal. When spring sprung, I was chosen to be the primary handler of the puppy in our care, Hershey. Anyone living on Monroe at the time may recall that he was quite a loud puppy, but a gentle giant. We worked hard on reactivity to other dogs, excitement to see people walking by on walks, his barking, and more, and were able to get him to a much better place than he came to us. This past November (2023), Hershey graduated after being matched as a home companion. He’ll be helping his person with some of the services he learned at Lafayette and beyond, mainly in the home. For the last two years, I have not lived in the house, but have served as an outside helper and mentor, since I have been trained to the standards of the organization that we partner with. I frequently take some time with the dogs, when their live-in handlers are unable to. I also help come up with suggestions and solutions for common problems that occur, and participate in weekly training when able. Sending the biggest thank you to
Prof. Falbo for all of her love and support through the last three years, I’m so glad dogs brought us together :)
Theater Department Representative at Trustee Dinners- 2 years
I have been asked to serve as a representative for the Theater Department several times over my four years at Lafayette. I served on a student panel that helped the department secure a four year $500,000 grant to help fund innovative technology labs and their integration into the arts campus. I have also served as a student representative at Trustee Dinners and have participated in multiple faculty search committees.
Engineering Intern at Carpenter Technology Corporation- Summer 2023
I held a 10 week internship over the summer of 2023 working on updating and writing safety documentation for industrial machinery. I worked on around 15 documents, which exceeded the expectation of five that I was given at the start of the program. My documents are still in use and praised at the time of writing this, seven months later. I interfaced with almost every department at the company, and still talk to quite a few of my colleagues on a
regular basis.
Study Abroad- .5 year
two programs, Florence, Italy and London/Dublin