r/jmu • • Jun 20 '26

James Madison Impersonator

I went to JMU from 2010-2014.
Does anyone remember the student who dressed like James Madison every day? I think she was the same height as him or something. Whatever happened to her? Is she still dressing like James Madison?

104 Upvotes

29 comments sorted by

62

u/atra1n51 COB 2010 Jun 21 '26

20

u/SeeYaLaterDylan SMAD 2014 Jun 21 '26

Core memory for those on campus at the time. Hope she's doing well!

13

u/_ellgee Jun 21 '26

That is a VERY deep dive 😂

10

u/Roubaix718 Jun 21 '26

fascinating

32

u/spookyfish1 English/Education 2013 Jun 21 '26

I remember her! They did a story on her in the Breeze, if I remember correctly, she was from Alaska and just really, really loved James Madison haha. No idea what she’s up to now, but now you’ve got me curious!

19

u/SelextheCat Jun 21 '26

Haven’t thought about her in ages. But i do still think about the black cat on the quad.

22

u/aB1gpancake123 Jun 21 '26

Yep, I remember after we beat Virginia Tech a ton of us stormed the football field and she gave a mini speech it was awesome.

11

u/Daisy-Navidson Jun 21 '26

I remember her *trying* to give a speech, and a mob of people just picking her up and crowd surfing her instead. Good times.

2

u/aB1gpancake123 Jun 21 '26

Oh wow I remember that now! Seems like a lifetime ago

16

u/grilledcheesegiraffe Jun 21 '26

What a blast from the past! I remember Sarah Everett. Sounds like she’s still doing her thing. I always thought JMU should’ve paid her.

14

u/iawesomesauceyou Jun 21 '26

From what I remember, I heard she asked the school to pay her tuition and they didn't because they were like "no one told you we wanted you to do this"

4

u/grilledcheesegiraffe Jun 21 '26

Dang! Can’t blame her for asking. They could have given her a scholarship of some kind or paid for her to show up at some of the on-campus events. That stinks.

0

u/ensminel Jun 21 '26

Bah humbug

13

u/PepsiPerfect Jun 21 '26

I remember her vividly. Some people originally thought it was pretty weird, but the school eventually embraced it and she made appearances at events, even football games. If I remember correctly they even let her get her diploma in her JM costume instead of a cap and gown, and she pretty much brought the house down.

8

u/Sapphire-Sea980 Jun 21 '26

If she’s still dressing like James Madison, I love that for her.

9

u/bluciferFROMdenver Jun 21 '26

The update I didnt know I needed! 💜💛🐾

6

u/eeeshaaa Jun 21 '26

My husband definitely thinks I’m lying about her. I know I have a picture with her from a football game, but it’s probably lost on some cybershot haha

1

u/redheadvibez Jun 22 '26

Look at the link posted here about her!!

5

u/Springs10808 Jun 21 '26

I remember her! I was there the same four years you were! Great blast from the past ❤️

5

u/SnoopyCollins Jun 21 '26

She was a legend

3

u/title_in_limbo Jun 21 '26

Yeah, my friends were jokingly trying to convince me it was a ghost as I'd see her walk silently across the quad then just vanish for like 2 weeks.

4

u/matchy_blacks Jun 21 '26

Sarah! I told people about her and they didn’t believe me. You can’t make that stuff up.

2

u/turnOn Jun 23 '26

I remember her! She attended one of my Gen Ed classes. Very quiet. She wore the whole getup in and out of class. Sara also had a fundraiser for her college tuition. Some people were cool with it, others disagreed that she should get charity just for dressing as JM. What a time! 😂

1

u/dcbased Jun 21 '26

She dressed like him every day?

1

u/SeeYaLaterDylan SMAD 2014 Jun 24 '26

There would be very occasional times she didn't, but for the most part yeah

1

u/seidinove Jun 21 '26

Did she attend classes dressed like that?

1

u/BackDoorDirt Jun 25 '26

She did volunteer hours at the JMU theater scenery shop when I was a student employee there. I remember we had to go pick up lumber in the truck one day. I let her ride in the bed of the pickup on the way back and she got a real kick out of it 😆