In 2023, I was thrilled to lead an effort to unionize my workplace. This was over a year in the making and involved countless hours of personal contact and organizing. This past July, we received voluntary recognition from our management team and I am now proud to call myself a member of the Communication Workers of America, alongside over 150 of my coworkers! Outside of labor organizing, I continue to work to fundraise for politicians such as Senator Brown and Senator Warnock, as well as nonprofits like Save the Children at MissionWired. In this role, I advise clients on digital strategy, as well as write, draft, and produce fundraising email and SMS messages. After a hard fought and successful 2022 cycle, I am excited to work hard to protect these seats in 2024. I continue to love living in D.C. and always find time to explore new museums, restaurants, and more. However, I am always thrilled to travel back home and see my siblings, one who is now working at the West Tisbury School and another who is now a senior at MVHRS.
Madeleine Moore - University of Chicago
In 2022, I continued to work to fundraise for Senator Warnock and Senator Cortez Masto at MissionWired. I was promoted to a Digital Strategist and went on to help raise over $250 million for these senators! In this role, I advise clients on digital strategy, as well as write, draft, and produce fundraising copy. Both senators won their hard-fought battleground races, and expanded on the democratic senate majority. I am incredibly proud and excited to continue this work into the 2024 cycle. Looking forward, I am contemplating applying to law school. I’d like to continue working in politics either at a national level or back in Massachusetts. Additionally, I was able to travel to Iceland and then the United Kingdom to see my sister graduate from college! After many years of limited travel, it was great to be exploring new places again. I travelled to see my cousin get married and my sister start college at Yale (as an MVYouth scholarship semifinalist!). I am loving city life in D.C.; museums, restaurants, friends, but always miss and come back to the Vineyard as often as possible.
Madeleine Moore - University of Chicago
This year, I started a new job with a political fundraising firm called MissionWired as a Digital Associate. In this role, I run email and advertising programs for nonprofits such as the Brady Center, a gun violence prevention organization, and national Democratic political campaigns such as the reelection campaigns for Sen. Warnock and Sen. Cortez-Masto. I advise these clients on digital strategy and help them grow their donor base so they can continue their important work. After campaigning for Elizabeth Warren and Biden, I am excited to be in D.C. experiencing a new side of politics. I got a great little apartment and am enjoying discovering a new city (though I cannot wait to get back to Chicago!).
Given the ongoing pandemic, I am fortunate to primarily work remotely for a while. I have been able to spend the majority of the year on the Vineyard. I was fortunate to reconnect with old friends, teachers, and community members on the island I had not seen since high school. I volunteered with the MV Food Baskets program which gives groceries to hundreds of island families. I am reminded with each move away from the home how unique and supportive our island community is. We are so very lucky and I look forward to seeing everyone again come the summer.
Madeleine Moore - University of Chicago
Throughout this year, I have been working on the campaign trail. After working for Elizabeth Warren in the Democratic primary, I began working in Kentucky to elect Amy McGrath. I spent five months organizing events and training organizers to get the vote out and persuade voters. The pandemic has caused a lot of shift in what electoral organizing looks like and it was very exciting to get creative about how to best reach out to voters while not being able to do a lot of door knocking or in person events. My team helped increase voter registration and turnout significantly, setting a good foundation for future Kentucky candidates to challenge their legislators more successfully. While we were not successful in removing Mitch McConnell from office, I have been able to help elect Reverend Warnock and Jon Ossoff to the U.S. Senate. Since graduating, I have been working in politics and have been involved with this election cycle since June. It has been thrilling to dive more deeply into our electoral system and inspiring to work for an array of candidates. While the election cycle has ended for a bit, I am looking forward to discovering another side of politics in D.C., off the campaign trail. While looking for work, I have been able to return to the Vineyard and spend some time with family. It has been so refreshing and nice in the middle of all this chaos. Thanks to MVYouth, I have been able to make all my career decisions free of the burden of student loan debt. I recognize how fortunate that is and am grateful that MVYouth has given me the opportunity not only to attend the university of my dreams but also begin my career uninhibited by financial debt. I hope, one day, I will have the same impact on Vineyard students’ futures.
Madeleine Moore - University of Chicago
Two days after graduation, I drove out to Iowa to start a job as a field organizer for Elizabeth Warren’s presidential campaign. For the past eight months, I've lived in Clinton, Iowa, located in northeastern Iowa along the Mississippi River, on a winery and worked to build a giant volunteer base to elect Elizabeth Warren president. While in Iowa, I knocked on over 5,000 doors, made over 17,000 phone calls, and was able to introduce Elizabeth to crowds and meet with her on several occasions. I’ve gotten to work with tons of passionate Iowans and learn about the skills needed to build an organization from the ground up. On caucus night, I was in a caucus room, helping with persuasion and was able to witness the historic, and quite frankly chaotic, nature of the Iowa caucuses. As of now, I am still working as an organizer for Elizabeth in Minneapolis, Minnesota who will be having their election on Super Tuesday (only about two week away)! UChicago was an amazing experience and I never thought I would be in a career that is nearly as stressful and intense as the university itself. However, after spending four years learning and growing at the University, I feel prepared to take on any task, no matter the size or difficulty, including electing the first woman president.
Madeleine Moore - University of Chicago
Four years ago, I received a call from University of Chicago admissions office informing me that I had been accepted off the waitlist to the class of 2019. I accepted the offer immediately despite never having visited the campus or the city of Chicago. My first year in Chicago was tough. The academics were unlike anything that I ever experienced and I had not yet learned how to work efficiently and professionally. However, with each quarter I learned more about the world, about good study habits, and about the amazing opportunities University of Chicago offered.
I never would have known to expect my four years would be filled with so many exciting travel opportunities. I've been to Cuba, China (twice), India, the UAE, and throughout Europe. I've had amazing educational experiences through travel that have given me a better understanding of our place in the world and the fragility of prosperity. I also never would have expected I'd major in Economics.
Interning as a researcher at an executive search firm this past summer introduced me to the world of business. It was an invaluable experience which led me to learn a lot about myself. I've learned that University of Chicago has instilled in me a strong work ethic. I've learned the importance of concentration and caffeine. And I've learned to seize opportunities when they arise.
Come June, I hope to be gainfully employed in a job that will catapult me to the Booth School for Business in a few years time. I expect I'll find this job either working in management and search consulting or possibly in politics.
Madeleine Moore - University of Chicago
My past year at the University of Chicago has been thrilling. Over the summer, I was granted the opportunity to travel to China. I stayed in Chengdu and Beijing for a month and worked as the Director-General of a camp dedicated to teaching middle and high school students about Model UN and the skills involved. Once returning home, I worked as a news intern for the MV Times. Back at school, I have continued to pursue a degree in Economics and a minor in History. This quarter, I was able to take a class called the Economics of Crime, taught by Steven Levitt, author of Freakonomics. It was the most interesting and engaging class I have taken. With the help and encouragement of MVYouth, I have been given so many wonderful travel and learning experiences. I cannot wait to see what the next year has in store!
Madeleine Moore - University of Chicago
My past year at the University of Chicago has been thrilling. Over the summer, I was granted a scholarship from my school to travel to Cuba to improve my Spanish and learn about the culture. I lived in a small apartment in a residential neighborhood of Havana, known as Vedado. Each day in Havana brought new adventures from mastering public transportation, taking salsa classes, walking into a celebration of Carnival, and discussing the politics and economics of Cuba with my neighbors. Cuba is a rapidly changing country that I highly recommend visiting. This academic year I have been able to dive deeper into my major of Economics, which never ceases to amaze and challenge me. In addition to classes, I have continued to participate in the Model United Nations Club. This year, I was granted the opportunity to run two committees, one based in Brazil in 2014 and the other in China in 1912. Overall, my experience with the University of Chicago has been delightful and has provided me with so many opportunities. I am grateful for MVYouth and their generous support of my education.
Madeleine Moore - University of Chicago
Each day invites a new adventure. Currently, I am enrolled in four different classes. In one of my classes we are discussing Bhagavad Gita, which is a portion of text from the Mahabharata touching on the role of dharma, knowledge, and death in one’s life. This discussion, with only the students and the professor, was the most powerful, confusing, and influential discussion I have ever been a part of. Not only is the University of Chicago incredible, but the city of Chicago is full of opportunity. Museums, architecture, waterfronts, pizza three inches tall, and giant sculptures of food are just a few things you can find on a casual stroll along the streets of Chicago. MVYouth has allowed me to focus all my energy into my classes without having to worry about getting a job or paying the bill each quarter. I am receiving an incredible education and exploring a fantastic city thanks to MVYouth.