Wisconsin Idea Undergraduate Fellowships Projects: 2002-03

The following nine projects were awarded for 2002-03.

Design Services For Centro Hispano of Dane County
Yarilis Torres, Assistant Professor Roberto Rengel, Centro Hispano of Dane County.
This project will provide comprehensive design services to Centro Hispano. Design services include several schematic design presentations, design development presentations, and the presentation of permit and construction documents for architectural work. Additionally, I will perform some artistic paint finishes on selected featured walls.

"Harambee Health Hour"
Gregory E. Dixon, Professor Linda C. Baumann, Madison Community Health Center.
We will create a bilingual health education and exercise program centered in south Madison with the goal of improving health and exercise awareness in low-income people who have diabetes and related health problems.

All Along the Way: From Homeless to Housed in Madison
Jennifer M. Cinelli, Christine M. Riley, Professor Mona Wasow, Transitional Housing, Inc.
This project will result in a compilation of testimonies and interviews with Madison's homeless and recently housed population. In order to educate and promote awareness of the real-life trials and tribulations of the homeless, we will conduct interviews and document our findings through photo, video, audio, and textual media. Our goal is to follow families and individuals throughout this process- from the streets, to the shelters, and finally to transitional and permanent housing. Our research will be used in various educational forms to update the inhabitants of Madison through real-life perspectives of Madison's homeless. This project would further THI's mission through education as well as providing and enriching experience for our peers and ourselves.

Troy Gardens CSA and Youth Education Initiative
Jesse A. Rucker, April J. Johnson, David M. Bruce, Associate Professor Irwin Goldman, Friends of Troy Gardens.
We will be working on a small urban CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm producing local organic food for community members of Madison's economically and culturally diverse north side. In addition, we will be assisting in the establishment of educational programs to teach Madison's youth appreciation for the food they eat, where it comes from and how to grow it.

"Madison, Wisconsin to Arcatao, El Salvador: A Youth Exchange Across Borders"
Theo A. Lesczynski, Professor Florencia Mallon, Madison-Arcatao Sister City Project, Dane County Youth Board, The Neighborhood House.
I propose to facilitate and coordinate a youth delegation to El Salvador in cooperation with the Dane County Youth Board and The Neighborhood House through the Madison-Arcatao Sister City Project. I will help these organizations realize their goal of a youth delegation to Madison's sister city by assisting with communications among organizations; fundraising for delegation expenses; offering on-the-ground leadership of the delegation; and working with youth to share with the Madison community what they have learned.

Interpreting History Through Art: A Study of The Decades Mural Project, by David Giffey, With the Children of South Madison
Ingrid A. Greenfield, Andy DeClercq, Professor Craig Werner, Boys and Girls Club of Dane County.
The central aim of this project is to give the children who use the Boys and Girls Club access to the histories that they see depicted in the Club's murals while encouraging their creative and artistic abilities in various expressive areas, such as poetry and painting. The murals at the Boys and Girls Club depict histories- local, national, and international- that represent the heritage of many of the children who use the Club. The Murals of South Madison project will allow these children to connect that heritage directly to their lives using their own creative expression.

"Wisconsin Folks"
Jamie P. Yuenger, Professor James P. Leary, Wisconsin Arts Board.
"Wisconsin Folks" is an online, interactive educational resource that is an on-going collaborative project between the Wisconsin Arts Board, the University of Wisconsin-Madison Folklore Program and myself to teach educators, students, and the general public about esteemed traditional and ethnic folk artists in Wisconsin. In these nine-months of creating "Wisconsin Folks", I will fully develop nine artists' web pages: reviewing existing documentation, conducting supplementary fieldwork, writing texts, and obtaining artists' feedback. "Wisconsin Folks" strives to bring about awareness and hiring of some of our state's most esteemed folk artists, as well as teach about and honor them. The underlying goals of this project are to encourage people and communities to recognize, celebrate, and document the diverse backgrounds and arts that lie all around them.

Relationship Violence From the Student Perspective
Rachel A. Perry, Associate Professor Nancy Worcester, University Health Services.
This project is designed to increase awareness of the issues of dating/domestic violence, determine potential intervention strategies for current student victims, and increase prevention activities on the UW-Madison campus. Approximately ten women who experienced or are experiencing dating/domestic violence while students at UW Madison will be interviewed about their experiences and how University Health Services (UHS) and the University community could provide more services for support and prevention. Their stories will be published on the UHS website and compiled in a booklet distributed across campus. Additionally, I will collaborate with a student newspaper on a series of articles and hold a panel discussion on dating/domestic violence on campus to conclude my project. I hope to create a resource that will have lasting impact on the understanding of campus dating/domestic violence, and which can serve as a model for other campuses.

Youth Spotlight Project: Empowering Young Girls Through Reading and Writing
Ifeyinwa N. Offor, Tehmina Qadir, Susan K. Pastor, Schenk Elementary School.
The purpose of this project is to develop an emotionally supportive after school reading and writing club for fifth grade girls. This club, My Voice Program (MVP), is designed to provide girls with a space to find the voice, curiosity, and wisdom that young women are so often socialized to suppress. Through year-round activities such as weekly journals, bi-monthly newsletters, book reading, UW-Madison campus visits, and community service projects, these girls will gain a critical understanding of how reading and writing connect to the outside world, and thus, their futures. This project will enhance young girls' self-image and ability to look with excitement at the future. In addition, this project may lead to the implementation of other reading and writing based programs.