Name: Maddie Drescher

Year in School: Junior

Major: Psychology/Political Science 

ABOUT YOU

Where are you from?
 St.Charles, Illinois

What do you like to do? 

I spend my free time rock climbing, attending concerts, and sharing a laugh with friends at local comedy shows.

MY COMMUNITY SERVICE & ACTION EXPERIENCE

How are you involved in Community Service & Action?

My first exposure to Community Service & Action was Saturday of Service with members of my learning community, Leadership for Social Change. Last fall, I served as an Adapted Sports Volunteer at Misericordia with L4C. Also last fall, I had the opportunity to attend the Ignatian Family Teach in for Justice in Washington, D.C. as a member of the mass incarceration reform team.

Why do you engage in the Community?

I believe to serve others is to serve oneself. Service tends to be one of the most fulfilling experiences that I am privy to in this life. Engaging in the community creates opportunities to learn the stories of individuals with unique perspectives. This level of understanding allows us to form dialogues, finding common ground in a world seemingly muddled in division.

How do you envision living out our mission of building the greater good past your time at Loyola?

It’s difficult to say concretely what living out the mission after Loyola might look like. What I can say is I am focusing my energy on listening to and trusting my inner compass (shout out to the 360 retreat!), forming meaningful relationships, engaging with individuals and educating myself on experiences vastly different than my own. It’s through these skills that I hope to refine in my time at Loyola that I intend to be equipped to continue being a person for others, wherever life leads me.

BEING A RAMBLER

What is your favorite place on campus?

Quite honestly, I think my favorite place is the Loyola University Retreat and Ecology Campus in itself! It’s located in a town not too far from my home, has a beautiful landscape, and some of THE best cookies you’ll ever have. It has been an absolute privilege to attend and lead retreats on that campus, each leading to some of my most fulfilling moments and relationships to date.

What advice would you give to an in-coming student at Loyola?

Go with your gut. Give yourself grace. Change your mind. Learn to laugh at yourself. Join clubs that sound cool. Find your favorite spot on campus and make time to go there every week. Change your mind again. Go to a new coffee shop every Sunday. Understand that you can’t do everything, and that is perfectly okay. Eat well. Get enough sleep. Go to concerts, and comedy shows, and farmers markets, and neighborhood bloc parties (Chicago is more than The Bean). Find comfort in knowing that some people are meant to just be acquaintances, or friends of circumstances. Surround yourself with people who lift you up, want you to succeed, and challenge you to be better. Know that your worth is not determined by your work.