Madison Meadows is a rising senior at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, majoring in Secondary Education English. After graduation, Madison hopes to teach high school English after student-teaching this fall and working with a student-run publication Strike Magazine Chattanooga. Katherine Redd is a junior majoring in Integrated Marketing and Communications at the University of Mississippi. Katherine is a member of Chi Omega and the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College. Maude Burrows attends Hutchison High School, where she cheers for the MUS basketball team and takes art classes. Maude loves to spend part of her summers traveling with Moondance Adventures in Thailand and hopes to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in 2024.
Ladies, we thank you for your fresh perspectives, positive outlooks and eager spirits. We wish you the best as you settle into your school year.
Q: Name a favorite childhood memory of growing up in Memphis?
Katherine: I love sports and credit this to the Memphis Grizzlies. I was 10 when the Grizzlies made it to the Western Conference Finals in 2013. I remember painting a sign, with help from my mom, that read, ‘We Will ALWAYS Believe’, to greet the team back in Memphis. The Grizzlies brought our city together, and ten years later, the Grizzlies are still doing just that.
Q: Now that you have been away from Memphis in college, how did it feel to come home with a fresh, broader perspective?
Madison: Although still in-state, when I first left for Chattanooga, I felt farther away than I was. I had never explored East Tennessee, and now whenever I return to Memphis, I see it through a different lens. I appreciate Memphis’ details and charm you can’t find anywhere else.
Q: What will you miss most about Memphis when you go to college?
Maude: When I head off to college, I will miss the people the most. We have such a big community, but I find familiarity through people I meet in every restaurant and store. I will miss the energy of our community when we come together and the ease of meeting others.
Q: What is something you have experienced for the first time in Memphis this summer?
Maude: I recently went to a concert at the Overton Park Shell and it was just as lively as Beale Street in the spring. Picnic blankets, food trucks and live music made for the perfect summer night.
Madison: This May, I went to Barbecue Fest for the first time, and it was as fun as everyone told me! I ran into friends from high school, teachers from middle school and many people in the community I hadn’t seen in a years.
Q: What are Memphis’ best qualities? Where are your favorite places to eat and hang out in Memphis?
Katherine: One of the most incredible things about Memphis is that you can find history in almost everything around you. From Sun Studios, the National Civil Rights Museum, the Zoo and Graceland to The Peabody, our city is filled and infused with history. I always miss Memphis’ food the most when I’m away in Oxford. I love Las Delicias, Memphis Pizza Cafe, Central BBQ, Hog and Hominy and Cheffie's.