Madeleine Hordinski
Editor’s Note: The Happy Beginnings series features recent graduates who are getting started in careers, graduate school and service.
In Athens Madeleine Hordinski ’20 discovered a wonderful place “full of incredible people and ethereal nature.” Now she’s heading west to a city of more than 4 million people, joining the Los Angeles Times as a summer intern in July.
A visual storyteller based in Cincinnati, she graduated summa cum laude in December with two degrees, Anthropology from Honors Tutorial College and VisCom photojournalism from the Scripps College of Communication.
Q: Who were your favorite professors and how did they make an impact on your life? Was it coursework or a life lesson that they passed on?
It’s hard to pick just a few, but these professors had the most significant impact on me at OU:
In photojournalism: Marcy Nighswander, Josh Birnbaum and Stan Alost pushed me to think deeper and develop stronger work. They also taught me the importance of being in a supportive and caring community.
In anthropology: Dr. Smoki Musaraj, Dr. Matthew Rosen and Dr. Sabrina Curran. Smoki and Matthew taught me the importance of reflexivity and being introspective as a researcher and person. Dr. Curran taught me the importance of being fiercely passionate about your work.
Q: What was your ah-ha moment at OHIO—that point where you said to yourself, “I’ve got this!”?
In 2019, I brought in Kitra Cahana, whose work I’ve admired for a long time. After spending weeks planning her visit, I began to understand the importance of connecting with professionals (even if that means sending a cold email). I also learned how kind people are to students and anyone who is curious and willing to learn.
Q: What was the hardest hill you had to climb (not counting Jeff Hill) at OHIO? And how did you overcome challenges or obstacles in your path?
Senior year, I was writing my thesis for HTC, working as an RA, serving as the president of NPPAOU and freelancing as a photographer. It was a hard year to finish (especially when the pandemic hit), but because of the incredible support from my professors, friends and family, I was able to make it through.
Q: What are your favorite OHIO memories?
This is a hard one! I have so many. One of my favorites was making a sweatshirt for our photojournalism club (NPPAOU) with our VisCom professor Marcy Nighswander’s face printed on the back. At one point, Marcy ordered several sweatshirts for her and her family. When she received them, she picked up all of them at once and stood in the VisCom office with the stack piled over her head. Marcy is a legend, and making sweatshirts was a fun way to honor her contributions to the industry and our school.
Q: What’s the one thing you would tell a new OHIO student not to miss?
Don’t miss the opportunity to get to know the Athens community outside of campus. Athens is a wonderful place to explore, because it’s full of incredible people and ethereal nature. I haven’t been to any other place like it.
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