Thesis time again: Madeline

Katie D.

May 25, 2011 - 10:08 PM

It's that time again at the University of Oregon: time for the Honors College students to finish the thesis process, defend their theses, and pass that last major mark of their undergraduate years. And tonight, I had the enormous pleasure of watching my best friend, Madeline, defend her project with the most conviction and poise of anyone I've witnessed in my time at the UO.

Madeline's thesis, entitled "Beyond the Walls: From Political Imprisonment to Peacebuilding in Northern Ireland," included some of the most creative and significant original research I've ever had a chance to witness. She interviewed former political prisoners from the Northern Ireland "Troubles": former members of Catholic and Protestant paramilitary groups who were incarcerated for their violent political actions. She spoke with sixteen of the most prominent members of these groups, and gathered evidence that these men and women were a crucial component in the delicate peace that now exists in the British Northern Ireland.

Over thirty of Madeline's friends, colleagues, and family members showed up for her defense. We heard the stories of her experience, listened to a powerful audio clip from one of her interviews with Protestant ex-political prisoner and current peace worker Alistair Little, and watched her explain her conclusions. She spoke for almost half an hour, and then another half hour was spent by her answering questions from the group: first from her advisers and then from the audience.

She was perfect. She passed with distinction, the highest honor possible for an Honors thesis.

Watching Madeline defend was powerful for many reasons for me. It was the most professional defense I have seen, for one. I was proud of my friend, and it closed off a year of my experiences witnessing her research and writing process. I spoke with her on the phone from Ireland many times as she scheduled or completed the interviews. She wrote the majority of the thesis in my living room. I watched her processes: her success and her anxieties, and the infuriating process of turning 6 one-hour interviews into typed pages.

Today also made me realize the way time has caught up with me. It's been a year since I watched my friends defend their projects, and since I stood in Chapman 303 and took my own turn defending. Beyond this, I'm at the balancing point between two projects: a year from now I will be defending my Masters thesis, possibly in this very same room. Time has gone so fast and I've learned so much from this year. My last project feels a bit distant (although I could probably still reel off a defense speech and a moment's notice--this is an intense process that tends to stick with a person) and my next project is just now forming.

A year from now, I'll be finished, standing in celebration as Madeline did today.

Congratulations, Madeline! It's been quite the year, and I am so glad it turned out like it did: with the greatest praise for all you have done.