Madison Mattison: From Mentee to Mentor
An interview with CHARM alum and new editorial board mentor
CHARM alum Madison Mattison, now a freshman at Goucher College, is now a CHARM student mentor, helping plan and lead editorial board meetings.
Image: Courtesy of Madison Mattison
It’s hard to imagine that Madison Mattison is just 18. She’s already someone who makes the most of her time.
The CHARM alum, who also spent many years doing work-study at the National Aquarium, has just moved into the dorms at Goucher College. But she didn’t want her time with CHARM to end with high school graduation, so she asked CHARM executive director Whitney Birenbaum how she could stay involved.
“When she reached out with the mentoring position I just fell in love with it. I have a heart for youth but I am also a young person, and I’m still growing and learning. I knew I could learn a lot from the students, too," she says.
Earlier this week, she helped lead her first editorial meeting, switching roles from student writer to mentor. She was used to the meetings—even knew some of the faces—but something was different.
“I mostly kept my mouth shut,” she says. “I was used to being a student and actively participating, but as a student advisor, I wanted to hear from the kids more than have them hear from us.”
Still, she remembered how CHARM taught her how to use the power of her own voice. Her first day as a CHARM writer was very different from her last. Madison went from deriding herself as a “terrible writer” when a piece didn’t go well, to understanding that mistakes and criticism are part of the process. If something isn’t working, she learned, “you can always go back and fix it.” Constructive criticism is key, but student writers should aim to "always lift each other up."
She now wants to pass that process of confidence-building on to other young people, through that middle-ground voice of a young leader who can relate to them in a way adults can't.
“I want to give younger kids the liberty to be themselves,” she says. Madison also wants to pass down the spirit of collaboration, which was a tough one for her to learn.
“I used to want things to go my way or the highway. Working with CHARM taught me that other people’s voices mattered as much as mine did.” What’s her vision for the future of CHARM?
Like a good leader, Madison immediately gives credit where it’s due. She recalls a student, Kobi, suggesting that CHARM branch out beyond the focus on Baltimore, which is only a part of student writers’ identity.
“They could have a lot to say about the whole world, the whole country, outside of the Smaltimore bubble. To hear those things would be inspiring.”
What’s next for Madison? Potentially a career in film. While Madison is inspiring the younger generation of CHARM writers, she’s looking up to her own role model: the filmmaker Ava DuVernay, whose Netflix series about the Central Park Five, “When They See Us,” was particularly inspiring.
“She had a hard story to tell. And she told it well.”
—Annalies Winny