Stephanie Marinelli, Managing Editor
Unlike interviews in the past, there was an annoyingly consistent entity of raw anxiety that followed me around for days, before I had the chance to question someone else. Maybe it was the anticipation of one final “Campus Interview Bio Piece” …or the fact that I had no idea who else to interview. Every person whom I’d conversed with for past assignments, had been decently familiar. From classes together, to bumping into one another in the hallway, I knew them, and they knew me. But it simply wasn’t enough—the element of surprise was lacking in it all.
Strolling into the library, full of false-confidence, I hastily scanned the first floor for an individual who looked approachable. Certainly there was someone putting off their work…right? Suddenly removed from the midst of contemplation, I noticed Maddy Trainor, a Junior Biology Major, scrolling on her phone at one of the booths.
Putting on a brave face, I forced myself to skip the unnecessary formality and get straight to the point. Thankfully, I picked the right individual.
“Quiet, reserved, maybe a bit off-putting,” she chuckles, as I ask her to describe herself from another’s point of view. Certainly, I’d disagree, as her outgoing and down-to-earth nature helped with the facilitation process, in the first place. Coming from Newtown Square, Maddy currently lives on campus, and works as a full-time student. Inquiring about this point further, I questioned the nature of her courses, and classes overall. As I said this, her face dropped slightly, and her brows furrowed. Scientific Statistics is brought up, and begrudgingly explained as follows: “It is a math course—you use Excel Functions—and it is horrendous.” Organic Chemistry also had the privilege of being harped on, and in doing so, she goes through a whirlwind of emotions—from fear, to despair, to utter, academic suffering.
To brighten the mood a bit, I directed the conversation towards Trainor herself, with the age old: “Zodiac Sign? Do you believe in it?” Noting her nonchalant manner and dry, scathing sarcasm, I wrongfully assumed that I would be met with a scoff, or, if lucky, a “hah!” Surprisingly, her face brightened, as she answered… .01 seconds after I asked. “I’m a Cancer Sun, Scorpio Moon, and Libra Rising.” Furthermore, she mentions that she’s “proud” of her birth chart, despite the fact that she claims others shouldn’t “take it to heart.” Following along the same route, I was curious to hear about what she does in her free time, considering her interests and humor, thus far, was similar to mine. “I dabble in Lego Star Wars on the Wii, I’m a Dance Moms binge-watcher, I am THE Celsius connoisseur, and I research a lot of game theories.” From this one sentence alone, I was able to conclude the “personality portion” of the interview. She was hilarious, and ever-so-slightly unhinged.
In between conversation, I glanced around the library, at the frantic typers, and those with their head in their hands; I was reminded of my next topic to cover— “life at Immaculata.” While Trainor did claim to enjoy her time here, she didn’t hesitate to share her thoughts on what could be better. Between feeling like academic advisement could provide more support, to stress about the graduation date—she resolves that she probably wouldn’t have come here, if she had a chance to “do it all over again.” Despite the negative sentiment, our conversation ended positively, in the way that we were able to communicate honestly, without any social “filters.”
There is part of me that wants to believe I “lucked out” in terms of finding a stranger to interview, but there is another part that believes that any interview is a good one, in some fashion.[1]
References
Trainor, Maddy (in-person interview)
[1] All information included comes from in-person conversation with Maddy Trainor
