By Madeline Matson
Director, Rural Assembly
I get asked fairly regularly to speak at gatherings and conferences, but there was a special pride when I received an email from my middle school alma mater in Ilwaco, Washington, asking to speak with a handful of other local, female leaders in honor of Women’s History Month. The pride was swiftly followed by a wave of nervousness though. Middle schoolers can be a tough, discerning crowd, and I know all too well what it’s like to sit in those hard, wooden auditorium seats wondering how much longer the speaker can go on and whether it’s lunch break yet.
I started my talk with a series of questions and asked them to raise their hands: Do you think you know where you’re going to live in 10 years? Most hands went up. Do you think that’s going to be a big city? Probably about 25% of the hands went up. Do you think that’s going to be a small town? About 75% of the hands shot up. Do you think you see yourself living here in 10 years? About 25% of those hands stayed up. Seeing those hands actually choked me up.
I went on to tell a story: When I graduated from college, I spent some time in rural Ireland and eventually decided to move home to start a small bakery. I moved back very intentionally, with a degree and a plan and yet, my mom had many run ins at the grocery store with people – “I heard Madeline moved back. Is everything ok?”
“I am confident that 20+ years ago, when I was sitting in those auditorium seats, that very few hands, if any, would have been raised when asked if any of us planned to live back in the community that raised us. To see and feel the shift, filled me with intense pride and hope for our community’s future and for the future of rural America as a whole.”
Madeline Matson
I told the students that when I was growing up there was intense pressure to get out. There was a belief that you couldn’t find success or even be happy, unless you moved away. And when I moved back, it was hard not to feel some sense of failure. I watched my college friends take on big careers as journalists for the biggest publications in the country and here I was, back where I grew up, making cakes. Even though I was happy and fulfilled, it still felt like I was doing less than people had hoped I would do.
I have told that story quite a few times to rooms of adults, but never to a room of young people who are built from the same community roots as I am. I am confident that 20+ years ago, when I was sitting in those auditorium seats, that very few hands, if any, would have been raised when asked if any of us planned to live back in the community that raised us. To see and feel the shift, filled me with intense pride and hope for our community’s future and for the future of rural America as a whole.
The day was made even brighter by also getting to hear from four other women leaders in our community about their paths and the advice they wanted to share. I was struck by many commonalities between our stories and our words of wisdom: Say yes to opportunities, even if they are scary; travel and see the world as much as possible; surround yourself with people who deeply love you; don’t let others define your worth or potential. And a big one repeated over and over, be ready for a winding journey, you truly never know where you will end up. In the throes of adult responsibilities, remembering this advice is just as helpful now as it would have been as a teenager.
Middle schoolers are hard to read, but I have hope that they saw a piece of themselves in my story, and others, because I absolutely saw myself in each of those eyes looking up at me on stage. As I left, the icing on the cake was getting a hug from my 8th grade history teacher and a whispered, “I’m proud of you kid.”
Madeline Matson is the director of the Rural Assembly. Madeline (she/her) was raised on the Long Beach Peninsula where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean, about 15 minutes from the place she now calls home. Her parents instilled in her a deep love of and responsibility towards community at a young age. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Oregon in Journalism and Multimedia Studies and eventually moved back home to open a small bakery and reset her roots. In 2016 she cofounded a national organization to uplift rural millennials which was where she first connected with the Center for Rural Strategies and Rural Assembly. Since then she has spent much of her career leading and supporting small nonprofits and rural organizations. In addition to serving on a variety of boards she is also an elected Public Hospital Commissioner. She enjoys building community and seeing her two kids dig for razor clams and run on the beach.
