Hometown: Decatur, Ga.

Visiting Aunt Shelley
Madison Rigger has been coming to Davidson since she was a little girl, to visit her aunt, Prof. Shelley Rigger. "I always thought it was a 'pretty school.'" But she hadn't thought much about attending here.

Making the Choice
"But of course I considered Davidson when it came time to look at colleges. I've always wanted to be a teacher." So it made a difference that Davidson has maintained an education program, rare in a liberal arts school. As she looked at colleges, she could usually identify the type of person who would go to each school. "But here, I couldn't pinpoint a type. I just did not feel that same homogeneity I saw other places."

Trusting the Trust
Financing college would be a challenge, but The Davidson Trust made it possible without loans, with a Wachovia-Wells Fargo Teaching and H. Boyce Connell Scholarships. Now add the McGaw Scholarship, recognizing a rising junior's excellent academic credentials, strong leadership, and potential to make positive contributions to society.

Take My Advice
As a Davidson Health Adviser especially interested in sex education, Rigger is writing a high school health curriculum for an independent study course. "I am going to Scandinavia to look at their compulsory sex education program. In America, people seem to think talking about something is sending a message of permission. But young adults are not infants."

Mrs. Bennet!
She wowed audiences in Davidson's Duke Family Performance Hall as Mrs. Bennet in the Theatre Department's production of Pride and Prejudice. She's loved performing since she was a little girl: "In my first performance, I was an Elvis impersonator!"

Going Public
A public high school graduate, Rigger runs Davidson's tutoring program in a nearby Mooresville high school. As for the future: "I want to go somewhere they can actually use the passion I have for education. I just want to makes kids think. I'm not trying to save the world, I just want students to rediscover the joy in learning and the power in knowledge."