Madi Chassin
(she/her)
Self-Bio: I’m Madi! I graduated from Hampshire in May of last year (2019) and now I live in New York and work on television shows as a production assistant. I just finished a season of Top Chef in Oregon.
Year of div 3: 2019
Name of div: Televisual Power: Consuming Stories of Sex and Sexual Assault
Summary of your div 3: The main theme of my Div was the pedagogical power of stories focusing on fiction. I chose to focus on what we learn from television about sex and excusing sexual assailants at a young age.
Hampshire influence: My time at Hampshire influences my life in every way possible so for now, I’ll focus on my Div. The main way in which my Div still influences my life still is that I still have a lot of pride in that project. A year and a half after college I can’t believe I was ever able to work that hard on something I cared about so passionately. When I first heard of Hampshire, I didn’t want to go to the school because completing a Div 3 seemed too hard. Looking back knowing I did it (and that maybe it might even be well-written and have new ideas and dare I say maybe it might be good??) feels like something I can be proud of forever.
What place on campus was significant to you?: The pick your own farm! The semester I started going to the pick your own farm was the one in which I started to feel more connected with Hampshire and take advantage of the resources that the school had to offer.
Describe the on-campus place as you remember it. : To my memory, there are three main parts of the pick your own farm
-Closest to the CSA barn is the field of herbs
-Farther down by the cows is the field of tomatoes
-Next to the tomatoes on the left side (facing the cows) is the field of flowers
-The field of flowers ends with a wall of sunflowers
-It has a great view of a mountain! Or mountains! I don’t remember
What place off-campus was significant to you?: While I was in college the bridge from Northampton to Amherst was significant to me, not only because of the beauty of the view no matter the climate, but also because after every break from college crossing that bridge was a signifier that I was back at Hampshire. Crossing that bridge felt like coming home!
Describe the off-campus place as you remember it.: The view from the bridge is of the Connecticut River with a view of a mountain (Bare Mountain if I remember correctly). On the Amherst side of the bridge on the water there is a dock and next to it a few canoes that belong to the UMass Rowing team I believe. The view from the other side of the bridge (going from Amherst to Northampton) is again of course of the Connecticut River as well as a walking/biking bridge.
Dear me in the fall of 2015,
I don’t give you enough credit sometimes. Sure, you’re a huge dummy years away from figuring out who you are, but you also chose Hampshire. So, thank you.
If you could actually read this, I’d tell you the people that you think are your friends are awful, you should wear less make-up, and explore the wonderful valley you live in more.Since I can’t change the past though, I guess I’ll just tell you what to expect from this wonderful place.
Remember in high school you did fine, grade-wise. Not great, not terrible. Maybe terrible in math and science, maybe great in history and English. Overall, average. You liked history and English, you actually almost enjoyed those classes. Almost. In reality you were too stressed out to enjoy any of it. Due to the stress and stress alone, school sucked.
I’m excited for you to learn that at Hampshire all of this changes. Hampshire makes you realize that you love learning. I guess in a way you always loved learning, but that was bogged down by the frustration of sitting down in front of a science test and feeling like a complete idiot. You knew you were smart, but that system had a way of making you feel so dumb. At Hampshire, you get to just learn. You are learning for a living. A year and a half out of Hampshire and I wish that I was in your position where my whole job was just to learn. It turns out that school never has to suck again.
I know you’re wondering about what your Div will be. I won’t tell you because you have to figure it out on your own, but I’m really proud of it. I think you would be too. I still recall that when you first heard about the Division 3 process, you were so scared that you almost didn’t apply to Hampshire. You were sure you couldn’t do something like that.
I think part of you still feels that way now in your first year. The thing about Hampshire is, it doesn’t just give you the confidence to embark on a huge project like that, but it gives you all of the tools and the know-how. So try not to be scared anymore. Just learn, take it all in, and you’ll be prepared. I promise.
Your fourth year you live with your two best friends. One of them you haven’t met yet, and the other one you wouldn’t ever believe if I told you. You’re not exactly her biggest fan right now. A lot changes in four years. You and your two best friends do most things together that year. Every night you make you schedules for the next day together so that you’re working at the same time, you’re breaking for lunch at the same time, and you finish at the same time.
Your Div is different, you’re not going to classes and coming home to do homework. Your Div is your day job. On an average day, you three would wake up at the same time, make breakfast together, and you go to the Kern (they actually finish making that building next to the RCC and you love it!!). You work for a few hours, you all go home to make lunch, and then you head back out to a different spot to work for the rest of the afternoon. Could be the library, could be a cute cafe off-campus. When you’re all done you go home and talk about what you’ll make for dinner together. You spend the evening talking, learning from each other. They’re both geniuses and they think you’re a genius too.
It’s funny, when you’re doing a Div, and the people around you are as well, you’re always in academic brain. You’re always stimulated, you’re ALWAYS learning. I’ve grown to think that Hampshire is 60% learning from classes, 40% learning from your peers. You’re going to learn that everyone at this school is brilliant. You could learn something fromevery one of them. Maybe that means you’re brilliant too?
A year and a half after graduation and you’re sitting across from your best friend writing this letter. You now live with the same two best friends in a beautiful house with a great backyard. You would never believe me if I told you what I do for work, but I’m not going to tell you anyway. I know that this letter just seems like a love letter to Hampshire. I can’t help it I think that that place might be magic. It has made you so much smarter, so much kinder. The biggest thing, the main thing I think you’ll take from this experience, is the love of learning.
I’m really excited for you.
Love,
Me in the winter of 2020
What We Remember 