Meet Madison Bizjak: UC Intern
My name is Madison Bizjak, and I grew up in San Diego, California and now live in Indiana. I am someone who values curiosity, and meaningful work! I enjoy understanding how culture, media, and politics shape the way people think and experience the world. I am eager to share my voice while continuing to develop my skills and perspectives.
Modern politics, and watching news stories about the government and how it’s generating issues for minorities such as the queer community, people of color, and women interests me a lot. I think it’s very important to hear and read real-life stories and experiences because people need to speak up and others need to listen; there’s always something to learn. Learning is the first step to understanding and eventually being able to help out others. I constantly read people’s stories on the news and on social media about how they’re being affected by present-day politics and economics, and it has motivated me to speak out for those who cannot.
Being the person who shares others’ narratives and who engages deep within the community is what I want to work towards. I hope people can read my writing for Union Capital and be as inspired as me when I read others’ work. I was interested in working with UC because of its mission: building social capital. I love the idea of bringing the Boston/Springfield communities together and being able to share resources across the state.
Interacting with my community at school by being a part of our volleyball team and by regularly attending school events such as dance competitions, student fairs, student-led markets, and much more, is very important to me. I’ve been able to connect with a wide variety of people outside of my tight knit volleyball team while attending these occurances. After connecting, I have received great information about volunteer opportunities around Richmond, such as gardening at the local rose garden, I have been able to participate in different craft activities, like stuffing animals or making tie-dye shirts, and I end up making new friends that I can talk to for the rest of my years at Earlham College and beyond.
Currently, I am an undergraduate student at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana, working towards a bachelor’s degree in media and communications. I also love to study sociology and anthropology; learning about society and how humans function is a passion of mine, and I believe it will help me in my future career as well. I’ve learned from my Sociology of Social Media class that people can be stuck in their own echo chambers, meaning they receive information that reinforces their own opinions based on interactions with their algorithms; being able to break that cycle is what I believe brings change into one’s life. I like to encourage people to venture out of their set ways and be open-minded to everything, including individual stories. Before, I used to be trapped in my own algorithm without realizing it, but after learning about these echo chambers and cycles, I was able to start intentionally searching for opposing opinions or different interactions from my own. I am very excited to learn more about Union Capital’s members and what they have to share with the world!