Maddie Hicks ’26 is a biology major and neuroscience minor, with the aim of entering the medical field. She came to Knox to play softball and has found great meaning and value in the relationships she has built.

Three Facts

Maddie has pitched softball in five countries. She went to five countries on a cruise and pitched in all of them.

She is deadly afraid of fish. In Associate Professor of Biology Nick Gidmark’s Anatomy class, all she did for the lab was dissect fish.

For five years, Maddie was a competitive bowler, which helped her with her pitching.

What led you to play softball at Knox?

I played for a travel ball softball team, and my coach was very determined to get all of his girls to play college ball. He sent out an email saying that Knox was a great school for both softball and the pre-med path and that they are interested in watching students play. I reached out to a coach here saying I was interested and she flew to Las Vegas to see me play at a showcase. I also visited Knox earlier, and I fell in love with the campus, so when I was offered a position on the team, I committed to the school—February of my junior year I believe.

What are some of your takeaways going into your last year of college?

I think everything I've done has taught me a different lesson. Kappa Kappa Gamma taught me how to hold myself and how I should present myself and also how to love unconditionally. I could barely know a person in the chapter, and immediately there's so much love and care for that person because they have the same values and the same ideals and overall goal that they share with me and the rest of the members. I think softball has taught me how to be a leader. I was a junior captain, and it taught me communication and accountability. Overall, I am more open to trying new things and putting myself out there.