Personality Profile

by Emma Frieze | April 18, 2023

About the Personality Profile

I enjoyed interviewing and writing about Madyson Hardesty to practice creating a personality profile. For this personality profile, I used AP Style.

Thank you for reading.

This personality profile was created for JMC 305: Writing for Media, Honors at the University of Kansas in spring 2023.

The Young Woman Behind the Camera

A Personality Profile of Madyson Hardesty By Emma Frieze

If you only had one snapshot of Madyson Hardesty’s life, you may think that she is just a typical 19-year-old college freshman at the University of Kansas.

She wakes up around 8 a.m., enjoys picking out her daily athletic outfit and getting ready for school, goes to her classes and gets back to her dorm room by the afternoon, so she can do homework and hang out with her friends. In her free time, she enjoys painting, listening to music, shopping and going to the university’s athletic events.

Hardesty said that she is “shy, smart, reliable, trustworthy and funny.” Not everyone would see shyness as a strength, but Hardesty’s introverted personality is a distinctive trait that gives her the ability to thrive through quiet moments. In these moments, Hardesty sees the world through a special lens and seeks to capture meaningful experiences with her camera. She said, “Anywhere I go … I just have to take a photo.”

This impulse to capture the moment has enabled Hardesty to discover her passion for sports journalism. In high school, Hardesty thought that she might become a nurse, following the footsteps of her mother and stepmother. However, as Hardesty approached her high school graduation, she realized that the high school broadcast journalism classes she had taken had been more than “just for fun.” She also realized that sports were very important to her after a childhood of watching basketball and doing golf, softball, soccer, swimming and volleyball. Now, Hardesty attends the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications, and she intends to pursue a concentration in sports media and society. Hardesty is also a student video intern with Rock Chalk Video, the video production department of Kansas Athletics.

As an intern, Hardesty captures videos at athletic events—including women’s basketball, soccer and softball games—and engages in her favorite activity: editing these videos. Hardesty’s observant eyes and quiet demeanor enable her to be a fly on the wall and give fans a unique view of sporting events through her camera and editing work.

“Something I live by is capturing the moment,” Hardesty said. “You always want to capture the moment because you can always look back at that moment … I just kind of want to share the moment and share what happened, and be able to be surrounded by sports.”

Hardesty said that she enjoys experiencing the behind-the-scenes action of Kansas Athletics and “getting to know all of the little secrets, the things normal people do not see going on.” She said that being a part of Rock Chalk Video has enabled her to make friends and lifelong mentors. Hardesty also said that she stands out in her internship role because when she came to KU, she already had experience with operating a camera and editing, but she still wants to grow her editing skills.

Someday, Hardesty hopes to work in sports media related to the NBA or NFL or take on a full- time role with a college sports organization such as Kansas Athletics. Hardesty said, “I think my current role is now teaching me how my future career operates, so when I get my future job, I will be able to jump right in and be ready.”

Whether Hardesty is working at an athletic event, attending classes or spending time with friends, she does not let her shyness prevent her from advocating for herself. “I know who I am, and nobody else can tell me who I am,” Hardesty said. “You have to stand up for yourself and do things by yourself.”

Some people may not know that the quiet young woman behind the camera is compassionate and wants to use her skills to help others. For example, Hardesty said that she hopes to mentor the incoming group of Rock Chalk Video student interns next year.

“Something that I only know about myself is that I have a big heart and care about others,” Hardesty said. When asked what impact she would like to have on others, on campus and beyond, she said that she wants to “show people that they are capable of doing anything that they put their minds to.”