Lehman goes from classroom to clinic

BY HELENA KNUTSON / Multimedia Journalist

As she prepares to walk the field, Madison (Maddie) Lehman, a senior kinesiology major, reflects on her many activities, friendships, and accomplishments at Tarleton State University.
 

Lehman, originally from Houston, TX, came to Tarleton in the fall of 2021. Since then, Maddie has been involved in several organizations, such as holding positions in her sorority, working as a Rho Gamma, being on the homecoming court and being a member of the National Society of Leadership and Success. 
 

However, Lehman’s most rewarding position was her terms serving on the panhellenic executive board.
 

“But I do think that I grew more as a leader, and I could tell that I did because people started coming to me asking me questions on things only I knew the answers; you’re only one of my exec members, and they trusted me with that information, leading them to the right spot. Even if I didn’t know what the exact answer was. So, I definitely honed my skills on how I wanted to be a leader versus how everyone thinks a leader should be portrayed because everybody’s their own different kind of leader,” Lehman said.
 

Lehman serves as the vice president of programming on the panhellenic board, where she created events for the panhellenic community service project Circle of Sisterhood, which helps bring education to women and girls around the world.
 

Lehman worked with several other board members, one of whom was her good friend Paris Hairston, a junior marketing major.
 

“Working with Maddie on a professional level was amazing because she always got all of her stuff in on time, and a lot of people think she doesn’t have her life together or she has stuff all over the place because she is so involved, but she always finds a way to get it done,” Hairston said. “Connection with her on a personal level, I love her. I just think Maddie Lehman is somebody everyone deserves to have in their life, just cause she is funny and she has all the good qualities people want in a friend.”
 

Another accomplishment Lehman was proud of was her position on the homecoming court this year.
 

“I literally was telling everyone like I wanted to get Queen, but I was like, ‘I’m literally just happy I made court. Everybody was like, ‘Oh like, you’re like you’re gonna get it.’  I was telling 

Aspen, ‘ like, you’re gonna get it,’ you know, Morgan Waters. I was like, ‘You’re gonna get it,’ you know? But I was just happy to be on court,” said Lehman
 

Besides being involved in school, Lehman does work outside of school, such as her internship at Crosstimber Family Chiropractic and her work as a dance teacher at Studio 614, where she teaches preschool acrobatics and cheer.
 

In addition to her extracurricular activities and work, Lehman maintained a good academic standing with the university and Honors College at Tarleton.
 

A junior kinesiology major, Ellie Sandoval shares a strength and conditioning class with Lehman and has witnessed her hard work ethic.
 

“Maddie is such a hard-working and caring person. She strives to be the best and makes all situations better, even when they are hard. She is always ready to learn and help others with any situation that they may encounter,” Sandoval said.
 

Along with Sandoval, others, such as her professor, Rachel Elms, can attest to Lehman’s hard work. 
 

Elms has been Lehman’s professor for a few semesters now and shares a student-teacher relationship and a friendship with Lehman.
 

“She has a great ethic and was always present in class. She went above and beyond in course assignments and projects. It was apparent that she has a passion for the kinesiology field that will take her far beyond graduation,” Elms said.
 

Although Lehman’s college career may seem perfect, she has faced adversity in her time at Tarleton, but nonetheless has overcome it and come out on the other side.
 

“You get what you put in, and it was just harder to start that, like to put myself out there and like be myself. I felt like I was trying to fit in with everybody else, but then you find more people, and it just gets easier,” Lehman said.
 

When she came to Tarleton, Lehman found it difficult to make those connections; however, she has impacted the people around her since then.
 

“I think the way that Maddie greets everybody with kindness, and I know that seems so cliches, but she is just so nice to everybody, and she always has a smile on her face and she is just a person to bring you up, and she always a bright light to have around you,” Hairston said.

Lehman didn’t originally come to Tarleton with hopes of becoming a chiropractor. 
 

Her original dream was to be an athletic trainer, but after realizing her dream of starting a family, Lehman thought a change of major might better suit that dream. Lehman decided on her new career path after shadowing her cousin, who is a chiropractor.
 

“I went home. I think this was over one of the Thanksgiving breaks and I shadowed my cousin, and she’s a chiropractor. And then I decided I wanted to do chiropractic. So they changed me from athletic training to EHP exercise, allied health professions, and I think after I changed that, like all my classes, everything kind of became more clear about what I wanted to do, and I was excited to do it,” Lehman said.
 

After graduating from Tarleton, Lehman plans to attend chiropractic school in Pasadena. After receiving her certification, she plans to work at a chiropractor’s practice and eventually take over or open her own. Along with becoming a chiropractor, Lehman hopes to get her cosmetologist license and do nails and hair on the side.