From Garfield to “Adventure Time”, freshman Madeleine Lee has always taken interest in comics and animation. According to Lee, she has wanted to be a voice actress or anime writer since she was young. Voice acting involves reading lines for an animation character while animation writers draw animations or comics, Lee said.

“When I was really young I didn’t really have a lot of friends, so I would turn to cartoons and comics because they would make my day,” Lee said. “As I kept growing up, [I noticed that] there were a lot of kids that were like that […], so it would be pretty nice to be the supporter in that.”

In pursuit of careers in comics and animation, Lee has taken multiple steps to further her experience with both animation drawing and voice acting.

According to Lee, she has been working on improving her dialogue and pitch by practicing with a microphone at her house. On top of this, she believes argument and debate have enhanced her speed and clarity to improve her voice acting skills. On the other hand, Lee is constantly drawing in order to develop and advance her illustrating technique.

Although Lee has been actively working towards her goal of becoming involved in either of these careers, she is unsure of the future and has some concerns.

“I’m not sure where I’m going to start next, but I’m hoping what I have been doing now is helping,” Lee said. “I am afraid that it is not going to turn out as I have planned. I’m [afraid] I am just going to have to stop it because it is too impossible.”

Despite her concerns and the uncertainty of the future, Lee is excited about the benefits of these careers and is motivated by her supportive family and friends.

“I am looking forward to the entire job, like meeting fans because they look really supportive,” Lee said. “I would love to have some people saying, ‘yeah you can do this, you’re really awesome, I look up to you.’ Being a role model to some people [is something I look forward to].”