Maddie Naumann Is Looking To Make The World A Better Place Through Medicine

Maddie Naumann faces both game days and her future career in medicine the same way—head on. 

The fifth-year graduate student is double majoring in philosophy and psychology while serving as a defensive specialist for Maryland volleyball. Naumann is originally from Austin, Texas and is now at the University of Maryland in preparation for medical school. Currently, she serves as the Director of Community Service and Clinical Opportunities in Pre-Health Terps.

Pre-Health Terps is an organization for student-athletes in pre-health majors that support each other through the difficult course work and navigating medical careers. Naumann got involved with the organization at the beginning of last year, when she met with Tim Bryson, the previous Student Development Director. After discussing her interest in a medical career, he pointed her towards Pre Health Terps. 

“A lot of my personal values and the goals that I wanted to accomplish were aligned with Pre-Health Terps,” said Naumann.

Naumann joined the organization because she felt that, “student athletes have a unique situation where, because our schedules are so crazy, it's so hard to manage school and sport on top of  trying to find research opportunities and medical opportunities that you need while applying to medical school.” 

Being on the Pre-Health Terps executive board has allowed her to interact with more people in athletics outside of her team that also have the same goal of making the world a better place through medicine. She is grateful to have developed deeper connections with fellow athletes as they support each other through navigating college as a student-athlete.

“I wanted to make that easier not just for myself but for other student athletes too, because student athletes have a lot of the qualities that make great doctors,” Naumann shared.

Naumann cites qualities including teamwork, communication skills, and a high work ethic—all the typical qualities directed towards a student athlete’s sport.  

Naumann is also incredibly involved in Team IMPACT, an organization that matches children facing serious illness and disability with college sports teams, creating a long-term, life-changing experience for everyone involved. She hopes to eventually bridge the two organizations that she’s come to cherish so much. 

“I would love to help implement some of the work I do with team impact into Pre-Health Terps,” Naumann said. “I think the organizations and values are so closely aligned, and I would love to find ways to get more student-athletes involved in both. 

“For example, I would love to find ways to have Pre-Health Terps members volunteer at hospitals and potentially find and recruit more kids to Team IMPACT so they can be matched with our teams on campus. I also hope that in the spring, I can help identify more volunteer opportunities that Pre-Health Terps can participate in as a group.”

Naumann would love to be a pediatrician, but is keeping an open mind in all that she could do within medicine. 

She offers lasting advice for Terps that want to explore career opportunities in the medical field. 

“It's ok to ask for help. There are a lot of people in athletics and outside of athletics that want to help you accomplish your goals. There’s never any shame in asking for help or guidance; this isn't something you have to do by yourself.”