Madeline Turner ’21
Scholarship Recipient
Why did you choose to come to Smith?
“I knew that Smith would help me grow as a person, friend, leader and student. And I wanted to join an empowering and passionate community of people excited to build a better and more sustainable future. Smith felt like a place I could call home from the moment I first stepped on campus.”
What are you studying?
“Through my study of anthropology and sustainable food systems, I look at the intersections of culture, ecology, government and environment. At Smith, I have been supported to study Arabic language and culture, and hope to study the ways shifting ecologies and power structures in the Middle East and North Africa impact cultural relationships with food. Ultimately, I want to contribute to lasting change within the food system by working on the ground with communities through social entrepreneurship, and through journalistic and ethnographic writing and storytelling.”
Who has had the most impact on your life?
“My mother. Beyond instilling in me a work ethic and love of entrepreneurship, my mother taught me how to take on each and every day as an opportunity to create something beautiful, with relentless compassion for the world around me, pure optimism and true grit.”
What’s an accomplishment you are particularly proud of?
“Sustainable and social entrepreneurship is incredibly important to me. Throughout my career at Smith so far, I have engaged with entrepreneurship and startups through a socially-responsible lens. Through my previous participation in the Draper Competition to my work as a consultant for Draper and area startups, my work is to change the culture of entrepreneurship on campus and beyond to one that results in the creation of sustainable futures for all people within industry and for the world, shifting the focus from profit to social good. I am a firm believer in leadership by example, and think that through continuing to bring these issues to the table and because of the support I've received from the entrepreneurial community here, lasting change is possible.”
“My financial aid has changed my life. As a young woman from rural Ohio, as a farm kid and as a child of the agricultural industry, my financial aid provides me with an opportunity that few of the people around me are able to access.”
Describe your work with the Debate Society.
“I love the Smith Debate Society (SDS). Over the past year, I have been blessed to lead the resurgence of the Society as a competitive force nationally and as one of the largest and most active student organizations on Smith’s campus. From a team of six a year ago to an organization of more than 30 active members now, the SDS has become a nationally recognized voice of advocacy for gender minorities and victims of sexual violence. Being able to communicate openly about a variety of issues is increasingly important, and I am proud to have been able to help educate and empower members of the Smith community through this activity and the various events we sponsor.”
How has your financial aid impacted you and your ability to come to Smith?
“My financial aid has changed my life. As a young woman from rural Ohio, as a farm kid and as a child of the agricultural industry, it provides me with an opportunity that few of the people around me are able to access. My financial aid means the opportunity to pursue my dreams, and it continuously empowers me to give back to the communities that I came from.”
Contact Us
To make an endowed gift or to learn more about supporting financial aid at Smith, please contact Betsy Carpenter ’93, associate vice president for development, at 413-585-2052 or ewcarpen@smith.edu.