Meet Maddy Fisher, a transfer student from Olathe, KS!

Maddy transferred to Missouri State University from the University of Northern Iowa. Maddy is pursuing the Individualized Major at Missouri State University, as well as the Dance major.

When asked why Maddy chose to transfer to Missouri State University, Maddy said, “I felt isolated and stuck at my previous school. It is a great school, but I realized it wasn’t a great fit for me. Missouri State offered more of the extracurriculars that I wanted to participate in, and had a lot of variety/opportunities to get involved both inside and outside of the classroom.”

Maddy says the most challenging part of the transfer process was leaving behind the friends she had made at her previous institution and trying to make new friends at Missouri State University, “especially ones with similar schedules.” Now that Maddy is in her second year at Missouri State University, Maddy has since been able to join several student organizations and has made a lot of friends at Missouri State University, which has helped, “make Missouri State feel like home. The feeling of being at home and having a place that you look forward to coming back to is the best feeling.”

Maddy’s advice for a new transfer student would be to, “Get involved! Everyone says this, but getting involved on campus is the best thing you can do. You don’t have to join every organization, but even studying in the library or taking workout classes at Foster Rec can make campus more enjoyable.”

Maddy would like to use this opportunity to give a shoutout to the people who played a key role in Maddy’s transfer process. Maddy says her friends and family were a huge part of her support system. Maddy’s friends at UNI, as well as her brother, Taber, and sister-in-law, Tippy, “listened to me, even though they weren’t going through this themselves.” Maddy’s friends, Anna and Mindy, were also a large part of Maddy’s support system. Anna, “talked with me and was someone who could understand what I was going through”, while Mindy, “was already attending MSU and helped answer so many questions about the campus and Springfield in general.” Maddy would also like to give a shoutout to a few members of Missouri State University’s faculty and staff. Maddy says Campbell Keele “helped me feel at home at Missouri State”, while Ross Hawkins “helped me understand the academic side of transferring”. Maddy’s final shoutout goes to Professor Sarah Wilcoxon, for, “helping me find another reason to want to stay at Missouri State, especially with Dance”. Maddy would like to save the best shoutout for last and thank her parents for their continuous support.