How I Learn By Doing With Madison Toney

Insights from the business administration student and Rose Float decorations chair.

On Limitations: “Being the only student-made float in the parade and competing against professional float builders has been a positive challenge. In some ways we have limited resources and experiences, but everyone on the team has this drive and ambition to go outside of the box and we use that weakness as our strength.”

On Iteration: “A lot of times you’ll think a certain material might look good in one area, so you test it, then realize it actually doesn’t. Through this, you’re able to take a step back to figure out another way to do it. For instance, we did a turtle this year, so we used very specific materials that convey that.”

On Collaboration: “Working with [Cal Poly Pomona students on] a completely different campus is beyond what I’ve ever done. And I’ve been able to work through those challenges. We try to be very organized and get the most out of it, especially since we have to travel for some of our sessions.”