For freshman Madeleine Marais ’29, settling into Peddie means navigating through the complicated routine of academics, varsity swim and the social aspect of campus life. As a new member of the Peddie varsity swim team, her days are shaped by a very demanding swim schedule. 

A typical morning of Madeleine’s (Maddy’s) life on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays starts bright and early, with waking up at 5:30 a.m. to prepare for morning swim practice. She quickly brushes her hair, moisturizes and finishes her morning skincare routine in a time crunch, and waits for fellow swimmers to bike to the Zhao and Li family Fitness and Exercise Center for fitness and swim training.  

Asking her thoughts on the day’s training, she replied, “[The training] was lowkey easy because it was sprints …I was a bit confused with the set at first… and we were able to leave earlier than usual.”

After a productive morning, Maddy typically enjoys a meal of a croissant and fruit, eaten with her teammates in the dining hall right before heading to class. When she has an off block in the morning, it saves her from the pressure of cramming for tests and finishing assignments, freeing up her time during the day to relax and destress. Moving through her day filled with the academic rigor Peddie offers, Maddy finds herself spending quality time with her friends in and out of the classroom.

When asked what her favorite part of the day is, Madeleine Marais ’29 does not hesitate to say swim. Despite it being both mentally and physically demanding, “Swim is one of the things I look forward to the most in my day, because it is when I get to do what I love most with my closest friends … even if it’s a tiring practice, we somehow always end up laughing and giggling our way through … even if we might be drowning.” 

A pastime she enjoys outside of swimming is volleyball. Although Peddie doesn’t offer it as an official sport, you will always be able to find Maddy after dinner, surrounded by friends, hitting the volleyball over the net and to each other. “It’s a great time to socialize, ragebait each other, and I always find myself laughing at the 6-7 jokes.”

She ends her day in a full circle moment back in her dorm, painting nails, cracking jokes with her roommate, or finishing her homework before lights out. Though Wi-Fi is turned off at midnight, her passion and motivation here on campus will never be.