Hooked on Unexpected Connections
Story by Daisy Arvonen | Images courtesy of Madeline Martin
Madeline Martin sat in an AI panel earlier this semester, fascinated by what she was learning, despite being out of her element as a wildlife conservation student. It is not unusual to find Martin branching outside of her own field of study. In the Honors Program, she was “hooked from the very beginning just making those unexpected connections,” and her deep interest in interdisciplinary learning has impacted her studies profoundly.
In her Honors Great Questions Essay, Martin considered how she could specialize in her own interests while living in a generalized world where interdisciplinary perspectives are necessary. While researching her question, she learned about “T-shaped” people. In business, T-shaped people, in contrast to I-shaped people, are those who have a deep level of knowledge and skill in their own expertise, but they still reach out and connect with other people and ideas. “We have a profound knowledge and skill base in a certain area, but we also have a wider range of knowledge,” Martin said. “We have to have specialization, but we also need generalization in order to connect and build those bridges and those unexpected connections.”
Martin has used these connections to her advantage in wildlife conservation and her Honors thesis. “I love making those bridges. Like in wildlife conservation, there’s genetics, genomics, but there’s intersection where a lot of good can be done,” she explained. Building on these intersections, Martin’s research was focused on finding if there was multiple paternity in mule deer, meaning a doe has offspring that are half siblings with different fathers. In her research, Martin discovered that there is multiple paternity in mule deer. She also found that a newer, easier method could be used to discover paternity so that they didn’t have to take DNA samples from every buck in the population.
Knowing whether multiple paternity exists in a species is important to know for economic and environmental purposes. Martin said that it also could impact decisions in hunting guidelines. “What’s interesting about science is the more information we can gather, the better,” she explained and “the more informed decisions we can make about species.” She is working on getting her findings published in an academic journal.
Martin is graduating this month and is planning on going to graduate school. “So, that’s kind of the question right now-- what do I want to do next?” she said. “I do know that I want to continue to make those unexpected connections wherever I go…I believe that that’s where a lot of change and impactful difference can be made by choosing to look outside, to look up from where our feet are, and see where others are.” Martin oberved that it’s impossible for one person to know everything, and that we need one another in order to make progress educationally as well as socially.
After working as a team leader at Deseret Industries for her Leadership Development Experience, Martin went beyond academics, building bridges through her leadership. Martin was responsible for finding ways to lessen the waste that came from unsold goods. She was also able to lead and help her team members on a personal level. “You know, being interdisciplinary, making unexpected connections isn’t just educational or intellectual. It’s also social and empathetic. Christ is the best person to make unexpected connections,” she said.
Throughout her time in the Honors Program, Martin truly felt the transformative power of interdisciplinary connections. She became a T-shaped leader and is planning on continuing to make an impact through the bridges she is building.