We’re here with another interview with a newer member of our community. The title of this column is “Lower Decks,” hearkening back to the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode titled “Lower Decks,” in which junior officers aboard the Enterprise-D speculate on the reasons for recent unusual actions taken by the command crew near the Cardassian border.
This month’s interview is with the writer behind Lieutenant JG Madison Marsh playing a Centauran female assigned to the Starbase 118 Ops.
DeVeau: Tell us a little about the writer behind the character — where in the world do you hail from? Anything you’d like to share!
Marsh: I’m originally from Plantation, Florida and currently reside in the northern suburbs of Charlotte, North Carolina. I graduated from the University of Georgia in 2009 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology. I’m currently an Assistant Store Manager in the home improvement retail industry. After taking a handful of classes and completing practicums, I will have a Master of Art degree in Counseling. In my free time, I enjoy watching or playing sports like basketball, baseball, hockey, and football. I also enjoy traveling to Las Vegas to attend the Star Trek convention there annually and am considering attending the cruise next year.
I love traveling to different destinations every year on vacation, listening to various genres of music, spending time with family, investing in my friends, and playing games with others.
What was your introduction to Science Fiction in general and Star Trek specifically?
My introduction to the genre of Science Fiction and particularly Star Trek began in my childhood. The first Star Trek content that I was exposed to in the 1990s were the Original Series Films and because of that I will forever have an affinity for the 23rd Century Era. I eventually moved on to the Next Generation Films before I began watching the Next Generation television series in 2008. At this point I have seen all of the films, The Original Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, Enterprise, Discovery, and Strange New Worlds in their entirety. I’m still working on completing the other series, but consider myself quite familiar with a majority of the source material that we cover in our game here on 118.
What is your experience with roleplaying?
I have been a roleplayer for ten years overall. I started by writing Jedi, Sith, Republic, and Imperial characters in Star Wars The Old Republic MMO. After around 5 years I shifted over to World of Warcraft and created characters in that lovely universe as well. I served as an officer in both communities leading various live events and growing characters. I shifted to a forum based Star Trek community for around two years and participated in a few other communities before ending up at Starbase 118 present day.
What brought you to SB118?
I wanted to join a group that had highly active writers, but where I did not have to log into an MMO game or forum to post my character’s responses. The goal was to find a community that helps writers improve their writing quality, had a realistic character progression plan, and where there was an opportunity for growth in multiple areas. The Leadership Team at 118 is clearly dedicated to enforcing standards, it is obvious that they want to ensure that everyone has a lovely experience, and they sincerely do a real solid job with member retention overall. My academy experience exceeded my expectations and that was because 118’s leaders have a passion for what they do here which is unfortunately not found in every community. The writers here are mostly friendly and have a love for the source material that is unrivaled which made joining 118 a no brainer.
Why did you choose this specific character and duty post?
I chose Doctor Madison Marsh because I wanted to challenge myself with medical writing. I have authored a majority of action oriented characters in the various universes that I have created characters within. In addition, my Mom has worked in the medical field as a registered nurse for forty years, so there is a nod to her there as well. Writing sims for a Medical Doctor requires me to research different topics and think outside the box from time to time. I learn something new with every medical sim that I submit on Ops. Plus it provides me with the opportunity to develop Madison in several other areas to ensure that she continues to grow as a Starfleet Officer.
Where do you see your character five years from now?
I see her making a positive impact, having a winning attitude, and delivering results for Starfleet throughout the galaxy in just about any role. She had a strong Ensign campaign which led to her promotion to Assistant Chief Medical Officer on Ops. I look forward to seeing her continue to develop her leadership and gain more experience in her role going forward. The next career goal for her is to progress to Chief Medical Officer or Mission Specialist once she earns a promotion to Lieutenant. I have worked with the leadership team on Ops to develop future sims that will help prepare her for either opportunity in the future.
After achieving that goal, Madison will work towards mastering her department head role over the course of time. I feel that the character shows promise and potential to be a First Officer in the distant future. The plan is to take everything one step at a time and see what the future has in store for the character. I love our wonderful crew full of lovely authors on Ops and know that I found the best home for Madison. Their love and support of myself and Madison is clearly evident. They know who they are, but I have to add that I am forever appreciative of the other members of the community who have helped guide, are invested in Madison, and have helped support me while I have been learning the ropes in the Ops 118 community. To those of you reading this interview, thank you for taking the time to do that. If you want to start a joint post or connect, please do not hesitate to reach out to me on Discord. Thank you again for the opportunity to interview for Lower Decks, it has been a true privilege.
Thanks for your time, Lieutenant JG Marsh!
You can read more about Lieutenant JG Madison Marsh on the wiki.
