Hard worker.

IUS first-year student Madison Miller embodies those two words.

Working full-time in retail while taking college courses is a lot, but Miller never stops. They work at Walgreens and run the whole store on their own at age 20. They get only two days off a week, and sometimes not even that.

Miller is also a part-time Army reservist. Often, they must go through drills for an entire day or longer.

Miller never stops. They keep pushing.

Even with such busy times and lack of sleep, they’re still high in energy, either from caffeine or energy drinks. Or, they are just like that, always ready for the next task thrown at them. Miller might be behind in their homework at any given time, but they end up getting the assignments done. They go to class to focus and get work done. Miller does let teachers know that they do have a lot going on. Miller is always juggling at least 10 things at once, it seems, but they’re so calm and rational that you would not be able to tell until you have talked and gotten to know them. They like to keep themselves busy but still fit in friends when they can.

At the start of the semester, Miller was an undeclared major. They had been taking whatever classes that interested them until deciding on a journalism major.

“I think I am a sophomore, but I don’t really know,” they said. “All I know is I am going to be in school for a while.”

Their choice to become a journalism major is based on a love of writing and the opportunity to be able to explore the different directions you can go with it. Miller is just as enthused about writing as they were in high school as a band kid and part of the marching band. They’re also a multi-instrumentalist.

How can we not believe that Miller is a hard worker?

Note:  This story resulted from a feature profile assignment in Journalism J-200 “Reporting, Writing, & Editing I,” a course redesigned by and taught by Lydia Lum.