Leadership lived: Student mentors freshmen in the UIS Capital Scholars Honors Program

Madison Stone says she’s glad she had a mentor to help her though her first year at the University of Illinois Springfield. Now a junior, Stone is giving back by mentoring four freshmen students in the Capital Scholars Honors Program.

“I love being a mentor,” said Stone. “I can look back on my freshman year and how hard it was to adjust to college and it’s just so nice to help them through and give them advice and show them the resources on campus that have been helpful to me.”

At UIS, Stone, a business administration major, is a shepherd and bible study leader for the Christian Student Fellowship (CSF), a member of the Society for Human Resource Management student chapter and interns at the UIS Human Resource Office.

As part of CSF, she plans events on campus and helps recruit members by staffing tables at events, such as the Involvement Expo.

“I like being a part of CSF because there are people from all stages – we have graduate students, international students – we’re all coming together for one purpose and seeing that on our campus is really cool,” she said.

A native of Chillicothe, Illinois, Stone says she chose UIS because of the right-sized supportive community. She says UIS reminded her of her hometown and she feels she’s “more than just a number here.”

“I came on a campus visit to UIS and about 15 minutes into the visit I told my mom ‘this is where I’m going to school.’ I just remember being so in love with the environment and the size of the campus,” she said.

Following graduation from UIS, she plans to pursue a master’s degree while working in the human resources field. She says she’ll never forget her time at UIS.

“My UIS experience has been the best years of my life,” she said.