KINGSTON, R.I. – April 21, 2015 – Madison Maynard is a shining example of the value of giving back to the community. The University of Rhode Island senior from Pawtucket has spent her entire college career helping the needy, raising money for worthy causes, and encouraging others to become engaged in community service.
“I don’t know why everyone doesn’t do it,” said Maynard, a URI marketing major who will graduate May 17. “Community service is a powerful force that brings people together and helps people see the world from another perspective.”
She should know. Working through URI’s Feinstein Center for Service Learning, she traveled to Colorado and South Carolina during her spring breaks to work at food banks, build homes with Habitat for Humanity, provide disaster relief and help out at assisted living facilities. She also served as captain of the URI College of Business’ Relay for Life team that raised more than $15,000 for the American Cancer Society in the last two years.
And if that’s not enough, she volunteered as a civic engagement leader on campus to help URI freshmen complete their required community service projects. And she worked with the Matty Fund to raise money to support children with epilepsy.
“Service should be part of everything we do in life, from our careers to our relationships to our families,” Maynard said.
While she served the community at every opportunity, Maynard also served the University in many ways, too. She was an orientation leader for several summers, something she described as “one of the greatest experiences ever,” and she has served as a campus tour guide for three years.
“I look at tour guiding as a marketing position,” she said. “I’m marketing URI to prospective students and their families. And it’s giving me great practice for the real world.”
Maynard always knew she wanted to pursue a career in business, but it wasn’t until she arrived at URI that she discovered marketing as her career path. “I really like that the college gives me a little bit of everything – accounting, finance, business law, along with marketing,” she said. “It gave me a good perspective on the whole discipline.”
As she finishes up her last semester at URI, Maynard is completing a capstone project to develop a marketing plan for a restaurant in East Greenwich. “I like the challenge of the project,” she said. “We sat down with the owner to see what he wanted to see improved, and we came up with a plan. I love that we’re taking something that’s a little bit broken and ripping it down so we can build it back up again.”
After graduation, Maynard plans to earn a master’s in business administration degree at URI with a concentration in health care.
“My dream job would be to manage my own hospital some day,” she said. “But I’m in no rush. I’m happy to let life run its course.”