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Madison Millard
Name: Madison Millard
Nickname(s): Maddie, Mads
Personal Pronouns: She/Her
Hometown: Guelph, ON
Favourite thing about ConEd?: My favourite thing about con-ed is how close everyone is! Everyone is so friendly and welcoming which was super comforting during my first months at Queen’s.
Favourite first-year class?: My favourite first year class was FREN150. It’s a smaller class compared to 300+ people in some lectures so it was really helpful in transition from high school.
Favourite thing about Teach Exec?: My favourite thing about teach Exec. is how genuinely warm and welcoming they are. Teach Exec. is always available to help in any way whether it’s a personal or academic situation. They’re such a sweet group of people who you can always talk to without any fear of judgement.
Personal Spotlight: Class of 2026! I’m so excited to meet you guys. My name is Maddie Millard and I’m in second year. I’m in the P/J stream majoring in French and potentially adding a minor in Psychology. I did competitive dance most of my life and still have such a passion for dancing. I’m also a huge fan of the show Euphoria and always down to talk about it! I’m so so excited for orientation week and to get to know all of you guys! Please always feel free to reach out and to come say hi on campus anytime. Welcome to Queen’s! <3
Words of wisdom: Don't be afraid to put yourself out there! Queen’s has so many clubs, teams and volunteer positions where you could get involved. Getting involved looks good on your working resume as well as it gives you the opportunity to meet so many new people. There are so many amazing opportunities to get involved, and while it can seem intimidating during your first weeks at university, I promise it's so worth it.
Ilea Segal
Name: Ilea Segal
Nickname(s): Lee, leelee, eyeseearess
Personal Pronouns: She/Her
Hometown: Vaughan, Ontario
Favourite thing about ConEd?: In this faculty, there is no such thing as strangers. Everyone is so nice and talkative it is so easy to make such amazing friends! I can't tell you how many times I've been in the most awkward break out room imaginable, breaking the ice and introducing myself by saying I'm in con ed, and having at least three other people go crazy saying they are in con ed as well. Instant besties. Plus, my most favourable, absolute, spectacular thing about Con-Ed? No one can beat our shake and shimmy.
Favourite first-year class?: If you’re thinking of majoring in English and didn’t fall in love with Strakers ENGL100 class, are you really thinking of majoring in English? Words cannot contain how much that class inspired me! Also, this may be cheating, but CHEM112 is also too good to pass over. This may have just been special to the year, but we had to teach our tutorial group about something we learned during the semester to fill up for our final exam. What better place to put a teacher than in front of a classroom! It really put my teaching skills to the test and I absolutely loved every second of it!
Favourite thing about Teach Exec?: Honestly, such amazing people. I am a second year student so I am not as scared of upper years like I might have been in first year, but this group is truly MMMAgNifiCeNt. They are such a fun, understanding, and nice group of people! How much do we love Teach Exec? SO MUCH.
Personal Spotlight: Hi everyone! My name is Ilea Segal and I am in my second year. I am majoring in English and minoring in Chemistry, which also happen to be my two teachables for the I/S Education stream. I like to talk, like a lot, but I will keep this short and sweet. I think one of my main qualities is the fact that I have a super cute dog. When he gets complimented, I feel validated. Win-Win situation. A super duper fun fact about me is that I cannot use a toaster. I either undercook or completely burn everything that I, and I alone, put into the toaster. #youcantrustmejustnotwithyourtoast.
Words of wisdom: Yikes I don’t know how to write this without being too cheesy or cringing myself out. I want to say “hey all, don’t give up” or “don’t stop believing!” But, like respectfully, no <3. I think the best thing you could do is take that risk. Any risk (please be safe) possible. I can't even begin to count the number of things I didn't do or was afraid to do because they involved a risk I was scared to take or made me uncomfortable. That's enough! No more psyching yourself out or making up a million excuses for why you can't do this incredibly fantastic and amazing thing you really want to do because of blah blah blah. Take your breath, then take that risk.
Sydney Spillner
Name: Sydney Spillner
Nickname(s): Moonshine, Cece
Personal Pronouns: She/They
Hometown: Tottenham, Ontario
Favourite thing about ConEd?: The sense of community! Queen’s is a big school but through activities like ConEd camp and the way Prof classes are run I have always felt close to my ConEd family!
Favourite first-year class?: Prof110! Holly made me look forward to classes each week - despite it being an 830am class on west – and gave me a valuable foundation for the rest of my PROF classes. But outside of ConEd Hist122 was fantastic, I loved my instructors and the scope of the course was so interesting (minus that one salt reading, iykyk).
Favourite thing about Teach Exec?: I love how open and welcoming everybody is! There was none of the usual awkward stage; I have gained 7 great friends in knowing them
Personal Spotlight: Hello class of 25. My name is Sydney Spillner, and I am so excited to meet everyone! I am majoring in History and Politics and I am in I.S with teachables in History and English. Here are a couple fun facts about me; I am the eldest of 5, I have been crocheting since the 7th grade, my favourite movie series is Jason Bourne, and I always wash my legs in the shower.
Words of wisdom: You don't have to be perfect to be amazing! University can be hard, but it is also so rewarding. I remember the transition being rough for me - my town was small enough that I had never used a public bus before! - but I still fell into a rhythm and found my people. Allow yourself to try new things and make mistakes. Reach out, make friends with that kid in your tutorial, join that club you think is neat, and know you're not alone; in the wise words of High School Musical, "we're all in this together".