Vicksburg, Miss. natives and sisters Madalyn and Natalie Burke have more in common than family.
Both are students at Millsaps College, and both wanted similar college experiences.
Madalyn, a senior majoring in business administration and communications studies, was the first to come to Millsaps. During her college search, she sought a college with a small, family atmosphere.
She found that at Millsaps.
“I loved how students had relationships with professors,” Madalyn said. “Students could also be involved in many things while balancing a challenging course load.”
Natalie, a sophomore majoring in business administration and pursuing a minor in political science and economics, wanted a similar college experience, but she was initially hesitant to attend the same college as her big sister.
“Originally, I did not want to go to the same college as my big sister, but now I would not change coming to Millsaps for the world,” Natalie said. “At Millsaps, I get to engage in challenging courses and grow in knowledge while serving in leadership roles and being involved in athletics.”
Both Madalyn and Natalie have made the most of their Millsaps experiences. They are active in Greek life as members of Kappa Delta, with Natalie serving as vice president of recruitment for the sorority and Madalyn previously serving as president of Millsaps panhellenic.
In addition to Greek life, the sisters are also involved in student government, athletics and student organizations. Madalyn is a member of Omicron Delta Kappa, Pinelake Church’s college group and the Millsaps honors program, and she served as a senator for the Student Body Association during her freshman and sophomore years. Natalie chose to follow her athletic passions at Millsaps and is a member of the track team. She is also a member of three honor societies: Phi Eta Sigma honor society for freshman; Sigma Lambda honor society for sophomores; and Order of Omega honor society for students in Greek life. In addition, both Madalyn and Natalie are members of the government and politics club, and Natalie is secretary of Millsaps College Republicans.
Madalyn and Natalie have also taken a similar track towards academics and enjoy Millsaps’ emphasis on critical thinking and hands-on learning. And, even though they took the class at different times and with different professors, both named the Heritage course as a favorite at Millsaps.
“Heritage made me look at the world different and taught me to view everything through multiple lenses,” Madalyn said.
Natalie enjoyed the way the course was structured.
“I loved learning about our human heritage, the idea of the water we live in and how we should always question it,” Natalie said. “It was great that we got to learn all aspects of events and be taught by different experts on the topics.”
In addition to the Heritage course, Madalyn enjoyed the innovation course taught by Dr. Penelope Prenshaw, professor of marketing.
“We got to work with a real business in Jackson to help them innovate and improve their business. It was a great experience to be hands-on instead of just reading about it in textbooks.”
So far, Natalie has found the introduction to management course taught by Gerad Hardy, assistant professor of management, to be one of her favorite class experiences at Millsaps.
“Professor Hardy’s real-world experience sets him apart from other professors, and he also focuses on fundamental world knowledge,” Natalie said.
“Every day in his management class, I felt like I was learning something I would use in my career. He challenged us to look inside ourselves and determine what type of leader we are and what kind of career we want to have.”
This May, the sisters will continue to forge their own paths as Madalyn graduates while Natalie continues her studies at Millsaps.
Madalyn plans to attend law school at the University of Mississippi where she has already earned a full scholarship. While she is open to all fields of law, she is interested in pursuing a career in either business or family law.
Natalie is still considering her options for the future. Right now, she’s between either pursuing a master’s in business administration or attending law school. Whichever path she chooses, Natalie is thankful to have experienced the last two years at Millsaps with her sister.
“My sister is my ‘built-in best friend’ as my dad always told us, and it has been nice to have her around when I need her. I think Madalyn and I have grown so much closer at Millsaps, but we have also both been able to grown within ourselves. She has guided me, and now I am ready to take on Millsaps by myself.”