Hometown: New York City, NY

Year: Sophomore

College: Timothy Dwight

Major: Ecology & Evolutionary Biology; Classics

Extracurriculars: Yale Daily News, SciTech editor; Yale Concert Band

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Profile

Maddie Bender, a New York City native, describes her high school self as a “jack of all trades.” Inside the classroom, she especially loved science and Latin; outside of it, she dabbled in a remarkably wide range of activities over the course of her four years, from writing for school publications and leading the Science Olympiad to participating in three varsity sports—tennis, skiing, and softball—and playing principal clarinet for her high school’s concert band.

It was this mix of interests that attracted her to Yale: a university that, to her, epitomized the appeal of the liberal arts. She was drawn simultaneously to the University’s Classics department, its student-run daily newspaper—the Yale Daily News—and its strong biology and life sciences departments. Yale’s a-little-bit-of-everything philosophy, which already resonated strongly with Maddie, seemed perfectly exemplified by her tour guide, a cognitive science major who was, like Maddie, also interested in writing.

Sure enough, since the start of her college experience, Maddie has involved herself in almost all of the aspects that originally attracted her to the University. She is double-majoring in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology and classics, has been a science and technology editor at the News, plays the clarinet for the Yale Concert Band, and is a member of the club tennis team.

That she mentioned almost all of these activities on her Yale application is a testament to Maddie’s unusually clear vision for herself. In fact, unlike the vast majority of students, Maddie even knew when she applied which classes she wanted to take: In a supplemental essay for Yale, Maddie mentioned a course called Roman Dining, which she then enrolled in during the fall of her sophomore year. She enjoyed it just as much as she thought she would—in fact, she maintains, it was one of her two favorite courses that she’s taken so far.

Even though Maddie fulfills a variety of roles on campus, she works hard to ensure there’s a balance—she safeguards time for relaxing with friends, partaking in Yale traditions, and getting to know New Haven better. A fan of Arethusa Farm Dairy’s ice cream, she names Frank Pepe’s Pizzeria Napoletana and Modern Apizza as her two favorite New Haven pizzerias. She especially loves spending time among the tight-knit community of her residential college, Timothy Dwight.

Maddie’s essays include her Common App personal statement and four Yale supplemental essays.

ESSAY 1 (COMMON APP):

Personal Statement

“Isn’t Latin a dead language?” my friends would ask. “Not if you follow the Pope on Twitter!” I’d retort.

Still, even in 140-character increments, translation did not come easily to me. At first, I had difficulty comprehending basic sentence structures. Then, three years later, I found myself reading Cicero and Pliny. Almost overnight, I went from working through the rudimentary stories in Latin for the New Millennium to analyzing some of the most sophisticated rhetoric of the ancient world. Latin paradoxically allows for both specificity and broad ambiguity, and the translator determines the exact syntax in the former and takes creative liberties in translating the latter. I was enthralled by the mechanics of Latin, and the ways each writer bent them to his own needs; however, I didn’t yet have the confidence to engage with the texts. One day, a classmate neglected to adjust for the case of a noun demanded by a rarely used irregular verb. When, without thinking, I raised my hand to correct him, I realized I finally understood some of the quirks of the language.

From then on, I was confident enough to feel like I was engaging with each ancient author one-on-one. Latin was opening up entirely new (and old) worlds to me. When I read Caesar’s De Bello Gallico, I pictured myself as a loyal legionary receiving secret military intelligence about the Gallic Wars. Reading Pliny’s letters, I began to imagine that he was writing me personal anecdotes about the pleasures of catching boars in the woods or the harrowing eruption of Mount Vesuvius.

The word “translation” comes from the Latin trans, “across,” and latum, “borne or carried,” and my favorite moments of translating come from bringing different disciplines together through a close reading of sometimes just a single word. In Vergil’s Aeneid, for instance, I came across one of multiple words for “anchor,” ancora. Curious why Vergil had chosen this particular word, I looked up the historical accounts of ancient Roman technology and discovered that ancora was anachronistic: though common in Virgil’s own time, this type of anchor could not have existed when the Aeneid takes place. I happily found myself at the intersection of history, science, and Latin.

Writing a lab report for AP Chemistry or solving math problems in BC Calculus is primarily a solitary endeavor, but translating Latin is a collaborative effort. I work alongside my classmates and centuries of classical scholars who have grappled with the same texts and offered insights through appended notes. In Pliny’s account of Mount Vesuvius’ eruption, a footnote advised us to compare the eruption’s effects in Pompeii vs. Herculaneum. My teacher brought in rocks he excavated from Pompeii, showing us Plinian bombs, explaining why they did not appear at Herculaneum, and a classmate drew us a map of the geography between Vesuvius, Pompeii, and Herculaneum; together, we developed a comprehensive picture of the eruption.

In practice, translating is a highly technical task, but the concept is simple: make an unfamiliar language accessible to a new audience. I can apply many skills I have learned from translating Latin to my other interests. When writing science research abstracts, I closely analyze the dense source material before translating it for a lay audience. Conversely, I can translate real world problems into scientific experiments that aim to provide concrete solutions. When I chant Torah and Haftarah in front of my synagogue’s congregation, I convey the meaning of biblical Hebrew words through the ancient melody, or trope, with which each word must be sung. In band, I imbue sheet music with tone and emotion while mindful of my individual role in serving a larger ensemble. As an editor of my school newspaper, I translate news and feature stories to the student body through assigning and revising articles. In all that I do, I translate to make sense of the world I live in and to share my understanding with others.

ESSAY 2 (YALE SUPPLEMENT):
Please reflect on something you would like us to know about you that we might not learn from the rest of your application, or on something about which you would like to say more.

On my first day of Rockefeller University’s Summer Science Research Program (SSRP), I knocked on the door of room B322 holding a pair of plastic goggles, but instead of a laboratory full of beakers and test tubes, I found myself in an office full of computers. When a post-doc sat me down at a desktop and told me it would be my workspace for the next two months, I realized that the summer would be very different from my expectations. The head of the lab informed me my job would be to analyze the genes of patients with Crohn’s disease to better understand the pathogenesis of the disease and treatment options. Although it was beyond the scope of the original project, my curiosity led me to question the researchers about important genomic and biostatistical concepts like linkage disequilibrium, p-values, and single nucleotide polymorphisms. To fully answer these questions, I reviewed scientific literature in multiple disciplines: computer science, statistics, genetic sequencing, and Crohn’s disease.

With this background, I explored the data sets I was given and proposed an experiment to the head of my lab with the goal of explaining why Eastern European Jews are disproportionately affected by the disease. I did not find novel genes responsible for Crohn’s in this population; however, upon further analysis, I discovered that a subset of patients with specific genetic mutations did not respond to a standard treatment. This work has the potential to eventually select optimal therapies based on patients’ genetic markers. After two poster presentations on the material, the lab head is in the process of publishing a paper with the results.

Beyond the lab, the SSRP scheduled speakers and activities that allowed me to connect my interests in science, journalism, and humor. Listening to Ivan Oransky, the co-founder of Retraction Watch, I thought about scientific fraud alongside journalistic integrity and discovered that my values as a scientist and journalist overlap. Workshops with Irondale, an improvisational comedy troupe, improved my communication skills by pointing out the scientific jargon I unconsciously used when explaining my research.

Of all of these activities, the most memorable was a visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art with other members of the program. I had visited the museum on countless occasions, yet moving through the rooms chronologically for the first time provided a visual representation of a narrative bridging art, language, and culture that had been taking place since the beginning of human history. I realized my work had joined a similar narrative, one of science and discovery, and felt inspired and proud of my small contribution.

Rockefeller taught me more about being a scientist than any textbook had; no single experiment existed in a vacuum. Instead, I examined what had been done before and found a new avenue for pushing forward our collective knowledge. My work in the lab taught me that the future narrative of scientific research will integrate multiple disciplines—I cannot wait to be a part of that narrative.

ESSAY 3 (YALE SUPPLEMENT):
Why does Yale appeal to you?

As an academic omnivore, I would explore courses in multiple fields of interest in Yale’s two week shopping period, knowing that whatever classes I chose would be taught by world-class faculty.

At Yale, where scientists are classicists and writers take multivariable calculus, I would feel right at home, especially because home would be the close-knit community of a residential college for all four years.

Outside of classes, I would report on SciTech for the Yale Daily News and audition as a clarinetist for the Concert Band or Precision Marching Band. On weekends I would attend services at the Slifka Center and explore New Haven’s famous pizzerias. The only challenge would be the long walk from Old Campus to Science Hill; thankfully, I love my bicycle.

ESSAY 4 (YALE SUPPLEMENT):
Short takes

The two qualities I most admire in other people are . . .

determination and compassion

I am most proud of . . .

my weekly section in The Record

I couldn’t live without . . .

The New Yorker, NPR, and green tea

Who or what inspires you?

Lin-Manuel Miranda and CRISPR

What do you wish you were better at being or doing?

Seeking out help when I need it

Most Yale freshmen live in suites of four to six students. What would you contribute to the dynamic of your suite?

study playlists and positive energy

ESSAY 5 (YALE SUPPLEMENT):
Why do these areas appeal to you? (Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Classics)

Many scientific problems no longer fall neatly into categories of biology, chemistry, physics, or mathematics. By studying molecular biophysics and biochemistry or chemical engineering (specifically bio-molecular engineering), I would be collaborating with others to devise unique, interdisciplinary solutions to real-world problems in areas such as treatment for diseases and sustainability while preparing myself for a career in the field.

I also want to study Classics to discover Greco-Roman language, culture, and history and recognize parallels with our modern world. An understanding of the ancient world can provide insights into contemporary life, whether in policy-making, interpersonal relations, or the narrative of scientific discoveries. At Yale, I could read Ovid’s Metamorphoses or learn about Roman food and drink (but hopefully not have to eat any of it!)

From 50 Yale Admission Success Stories: And the Essay That Made Them Happen, edited by the Yale Daily News Staff. Copyright © 2020 by the authors
and reprinted by permission of St. Martin's Publishing Group.