Madison Richardson comes from Dayton, Washington, a small town located in the southeastern region of the state. With a population of a little over 2,500 people, Dayton is hardly crowded. Yet Madison’s story shows how talented youth in need of support can be found all across our region.

Talented may be an understatement for a scholar like Madison, though. A veritable academic veteran, Madison used Running Start to complete her general education requirements for college while  in high school. Now, she is poised to make the most of her education in Psychology, Criminology, and Criminal Justice.

In this interview, Madison and I discussed her experience transitioning from Dayton to Spokane, her love of tight-knit communities, and her plans for the future.

Samuel McLaughlin: It’s about 4pm on a Friday and I am here with Madison Richardson. Madison, you’re from Dayton, Washington, you’re a Whitworth student, and you’re a freshman. Is that all right?

Madison Richardson: I did Running Start, so I’m a junior. But yeah, first year.

Okay, wonderful. Well, let’s start off general: just tell us about yourself.

I grew up in Dayton, born and raised. I went to Dayton High School, and then I did Running Start. I live with my mom, and I’m an only child. I’ve worked since I was 16, so it’s kind of nice to just have a little break right now and focus on academics.

Tell us a little bit about Dayton.

It’s pretty small. My graduating class was 27 [students]; the class before me was 13. So, little rural area, lots of farming, lots of farm equipment on the roads, one stop light, lots of gas stations, lots of churches, little pit stop on Highway 12.

What was that transition like coming to Whitworth?

I definitely like a small university. It’s been nice. I knew everyone in my high school and pretty much in my hometown, too. So, coming here to a very, very big city compared to Dayton has been challenging, especially with time management.

Sometimes it takes me like 30 minutes to get somewhere, and sometimes it takes me 15.

Kind of at the whims of the traffic. I feel that for sure.

Let’s keep going with some easier questions. What are you reading or watching or listening to right now? Recommend some stuff to us.

I started watching All American before I moved up here, and then I finished that. I haven’t really started anything else, but I’m taking a criminology class and [the professor] keeps recommending all these Netflix series. I kind of want to start those!

The class is super interesting. We study all these criminal cases and apply theories to explain the crimes.

I was doing some research, as any good journalist should do, and I saw that one of your favorite hobbies is traveling. Where do you like to travel?

I’ve been to Florida, and I’ve been to Texas a couple of times. Two summers ago, my mom and her friend and I went for a week. We hit Zion [National Park], Bryce Canyon, the Grand Canyon, and then we hung out in Las Vegas. That was kind of fun. It was my first time in Las Vegas.

You talked about Dayton being tiny. Maybe there’s not a lot going on there– at least at first glance. But what’s special about it?

I think it’s the community aspect: to go to the store and run into someone, a teacher or someone [from] the post office, and being able to spark up conversation.

What do you like about the campus and culture at Whitworth?

It’s small. There’s one dining hall, there’s seven residence halls, and so it’s nice to just be able to see familiar faces, recognize people that are in your classes. Class sizes are pretty small too.

Was that something you were looking for during your college search?

Yeah. I like being able to recognize people I know, not feeling intimidated to go up and talk to them or ask them for notes if I’d missed the day before.

Those big 100-person classes are not for everybody.

We talked a little bit about criminology. You’re studying criminology and psychology, which is a very potent combo, right?

Yeah, I’m a minor in criminology and criminal justice. Now, I’m sticking to psychology [as my major], although my credits transferred over. I’d like to get done in the two years and really kind of get out there.

So, psychology was your first love in academics, yeah? What drove you to that?

I was indecisive choosing what I wanted to study. I came in with my AA and kind of had to declare a major (Editor’s Note: since Madison had already completed the general education requirements through Running Start).

My mom is a counselor, and she got her master’s [degree] at Whitworth. She talks about psychology a lot, and I kind of liked that aspect.

Let’s talk about LaunchNW. What did you know about us before getting the scholarship?

There’s a site coordinator at my high school, Katie Lee. She was my principal way back in elementary school. Our school does a lot of local scholarships, but they’d just found out about LaunchNW. They sent it to all of our seniors.

A lot of us qualified for it. I ended up doing it on my own, but they even held a little lunch meeting for the seniors to fill it out.

How did the scholarship change things for you?

Without the LaunchNW scholarship, I would have had to pay [for] my first year [out of pocket]. It was great. I got a lot, [and] Whitworth is very giving, great, and gracious with their scholarships. Then I applied for almost every single local scholarship that I was able to in my hometown. When I heard that I got the LaunchNW [Promise Scholarship], I was pretty happy about it.

Let’s talk about your future plans. What do you want to do with your education?

I want to be a therapist of some kind. I think [being] a school counselor could be kind of fun. Then I’ve thought about being a counselor in the prison setting, which would pair well with a criminology/criminal justice background. But I don’t know yet.

I’m definitely getting my masters, which gives me a little bit of time to decide, I guess.

What do you think is important about counseling and the roles counselors play in society?

I just like helping people. And I don’t know– my mom is super good with her words. I had bad anxiety when I was little. She was always super helpful. I’ve seen the way that our school counselors at my tiny high school were. They did a good job guiding students one step at a time. I really like that idea.

What does community mean to you?

I really enjoyed my community in Dayton. I love my Whitworth community too, but my Dayton community is different because I get to interact with adults [of all ages] and have meaningful conversations with them.

Anybody you want to shout out?

I would say shout out to my scholarship coordinator at Dayton, Susie Tasker. She was a big help.

It sounds like she had you prolific on those applications, which is amazing.

Yeah, it’s fun when I’m home, and sometimes I run into her, like I ran into her during Thanksgiving, and so that was fun.

Yeah, yeah. Now she’s seeing you all grown up! That’s awesome.

I wanted to ask about Running Start. Tell me about the decision to do that.

My high school only offers three classes that can count towards college credits, and I knew I wanted to get ahead. [Running Start] saves a lot of money– I was only paying like $300 a quarter to attend. I really liked it, and I couldn’t recommend it enough.

On the record, then: you would recommend that people take Running Start?

Yes. I’m always pushing the younger classmen at my high school when I see them. I’m like, “Are you gonna do Running Start? Come on, it saves a lot of money!”

I do have one last question before I let you go to brave the traffic again. I asked our last Promise Scholar this question, and I really liked his answers: What’s your hot take?

Hmmm… maybe it’s that every outfit can be paired with a vest. I love this [gestures at her vest]. I have three different [vests like] this, and I’m already looking at another one for Christmas.

I know I could wear a vest every single day.

Why? Are they just that effective?

I don’t know. I love the way they look, and I like having pockets [in a garment] that’s not, like, a hoodie, and they keep you warm.

They don’t restrict your arms too much, yeah?

Yes! The collar doesn’t ever mess with me, and there’s lots of pockets.

Well, Madison, thank you for coming. We’re very proud to have you as a Promise Scholar.

Samuel McLaughlin is a Marketing and Communications Program Associate at LaunchNW.