Real Meaning to Real People

As a transfer student, Madeleine Buchholz (BA '19) came to the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities interested in global studies, with the hopes of working in international development to help make the world a better place.

"Minnesota's political science program just made sense for me," says Madeleine, due to how established it was and the support available. She also earned a minor in nonprofit management to augment her degree.

With her credits from another institution, Madeleine would spend only a year and a half at Minnesota, and knew she needed to make the most of her time on campus. To do this, it was helpful for her to figure out how to make the large school feel a bit smaller.

Career-Oriented

Madeleine primarily found value in the career-oriented resources. Political science being a nebulous field, it was helpful to "dig into a lot of different things professionally," says Madeleine. Having a variety of experiences set her up for success, making her more confident about what she wanted to do long-term.

While at Minnesota, Madeleine had several jobs on and around campus. She was a student assistant for the Office of Government and Community Relations, the Federal Government Representative for the Minnesota Student Association, the Executive Assistant to the Weisman Art Museum director, and worked at Town Hall Brewery.

Additionally, through her interest in international development, Madeleine became involved in the ONE Campaign. They had a student branch working to engage campuses in international development through advocacy, which excited Madeleine. When she found out Minnesota did not have a chapter, she decided to start one.

On the Hill

The ONE Campaign also had an internship program in D.C. that Madeleine wanted to participate in. Through the College of Liberal Arts, she received the Mulhollem Cravens Leadership Scholarship, which fully funded her summer internship in D.C. After an inspirational three months, she felt she needed to be in D.C.

When she returned to Minnesota, Madeleine spoke with the former student body president, who at the time was working for Congresswoman Betty McCollum in D.C. Madeleine was asked whether she would consider interning for McCollum in D.C. that spring. She was able to take her remaining University of Minnesota classes online to make the internship possible.

The internship fell during the first government shutdown of the Trump administration, and as the only intern, Madeleine embraced the hectic environment. She was responsible for communicating with constituents about federal issues, drafting constituent correspondence, and composing daily news and press clips for distribution.

After graduating, Madeleine stayed in D.C., exploring a variety of positions in the Capitol. She started in government, then moved to campaigns, and later returned to the official side. Madeleine was then offered a job as the Director of Development at a nonprofit in Green Bay, Wisconsin, where she worked for two years.

Real Meaning to Real People

The Dobbs decision came down about a year into her nonprofit role. That was a turning point for Madeleine in finding her way back to politics. In 2024, Madeleine ran the congressional campaign for Dr. Kristin Lyerly. She had never managed a campaign before, but the opportunity allowed her to work with passion alongside an inspiring candidate and a great support system.

Following that campaign, Madeleine moved to Madison work for the state senator from the Green Bay area, and a year into that position, the opportunity to run the Attorney General's re-election campaign came. 

Through her various experiences, Madeleine has learned that working with campaigns is what she enjoys most. Day-to-day, she manages the budget and a team that works on communications, finance, and other political work and also engages with consultants who work on polling, research, fundraising, and paid media. Madeleine coordinates with them all and manages the overall strategy for the campaign. She loves that every day is different, from fundraisers to breaking news that requires a response.

The best part of working on a campaign, however, is laying the foundation for the work that has real meaning to real people. Who gets elected has real-world impact. For example, the attorney general Madeleine works for has been combating the opioid epidemic through holding large corporations and drug traffickers accountable and supporting prevention efforts. Madeleine points to statistics that show that from 2022 to 2024 opioid overdose deaths dropped by over 35%. Working on issues with that level of impact, on campaigns that strive to make a difference, is a way Madeleine does her small part to make the world a better place.