Heading home to Alabama

While most students live about 15 minutes from school, Madyx Henning’s heart lives 12 hours away, in Alabama. The senior, who has lived in the LZ area for five years, cannot wait to go home this fall.

“She’s been talking about going to University of Alabama since freshman year, and I remember that was literally the only school she applied to,” Kati Babb, senior, said.

Alabama will always be home, according to Henning.

“I grew up directly next door to my grandparents. [If I got] mad at my mom, [I ran] over to my grandparents,” Henning said. “My house here is still on a lot of land. [But] I don’t know my neighbors. I don’t have my grandparents next door to me.” 

Family is a priority for Henning, and her extended family still lives close to the University of Alabama, which is one of the reasons she was drawn to the college. 

 “I think she’s very excited to be close to her grandparents and the rest of her family that lives there, Taryn Blake, freshman, said. 

Henning grew up with a tight knit family, but says her friends are also very important to her.

“I’m very passionate about making sure that we’re always together. My parents are always happy and making sure that I spend time with my friends. And if I haven’t seen them a while I make sure that we hang out together,” Henning said.

Blake says that Henning’s personality just proves how much she values the people in her life. 

“She seems a little tough on the outside, but when you actually get to know her and you get close to her, she’s actually super sweet. I don’t think she has a mean bone in her body,” Blake said.  

To match her encouraging personality and love of sports, Henning is majoring in Kinesiology. Not only is she a varsity cheerleader but also a die hard Crimson Tide football fan. 

 “I think it was a homecoming night,” Henning said. “It was the Texas and Alabama football game and I sat on the couch of the after party at dinner watching the game the whole time.” 

While she may have spent homecoming watching football, she sees her choice to attend University of Alabama as her chance to truly come home.