Jonathan Bryan admits he’s one of the few people who reads every single email in his inbox.
In November of 2021, an email advertising the Wisconsin Idea Fellowship found its way to Bryan’s inbox. After attending an info session, Bryan and his friends Chao Xiong, Andrew Yang and Mai Chada Vang decided the Wisconsin Idea Fellowship (WIF) was the perfect place to build a program for students to explore post-high school opportunities.
After some brainstorming and a few emails back and forth, the UW–Madison students decided to start by traveling to Oneida Nation Middle and High School near Green Bay and performing STEM experiments with students.
They called the project “Bridging Wisconsin,” the title alluding to bridging underrepresented communities to opportunities post-high school graduation. Not every student is familiar with the many paths that exist after high school graduation, and Bridging Wisconsin was designed to connect students with undergraduate mentors and pre-college resources.
“We believe that Madison, the top university in the entire state, should really connect with underrepresented or communities that may not have enough attention,” Xiong says. “And what we mean by [underrepresented communities] is communities where [undergraduate-led] programming may not exist”
This gap is exactly what the group intended to bridge. The project was inspired by the Wisconsin Idea: Bridging Wisconsin intends to connect students from every corner of Wisconsin to higher education, whether at UW–Madison, a technical school or a community college.
The group of UW–Madison students started by visiting the Oneida Nation Schools in May of 2022. The group spent a week working with students, engaging students with interactive STEM experiments and discussing their personal experiences as undergraduates at UW–Madison.
“We wanted to do an interactive, engaging piece, so they could experience and build an interest in STEM, if any of them want to go in that field,” Bryan says. “Because the key component of working with the middle school students was to get them thinking early: ‘What do I want to do outside of high school?’”
The group continued to work with Oneida Nation Schools through May of 2023, broadening the program to include fields other than STEM. To expand Bridging Wisconsin, the group implemented the program in Milwaukee, where they would work with rising high school seniors at Hmong American Peace Academy (HAPA).
At HAPA, Bridging Wisconsin had a three-day program, where students connected with professors and campus administrators from UW–Madison to learn about higher education. As part of the program, HAPA students traveled to UW–Madison to explore campus for themselves.
In the Hmong community, there is a gap in college readiness support, Xiong says. HAPA has recently added a division to support students’ post-graduation plans, a program which Bridging Wisconsin coordinated alongside.
“I have family at HAPA. My nieces and nephews, they’re at HAPA right now,” Xiong says. “Growing up in the heart of the Hmong community in Milwaukee and currently pursuing college myself, I understood that we needed more investment, focus and attention towards the Hmong community and its scholars.”
One of the program’s biggest impacts was providing HAPA students an opportunity to visit the UW–Madison campus with the guidance of Bridging Wisconsin and supportive campus leaders, Xiong feels. A physical visit to UW–Madison gives students the chance to visualize their life on campus, making students feel like they belong and that attending university is a possible path, Xiong says.
When considering respectful and beneficial community service, the WIF Canvas course provided helpful guidance, Xiong says. Additionally, the group received the American Family Insurance Social Entrepreneurship Award, which brought funding for the project to continue with Oneida Nations Schools and HAPA.
“We’d ask the community, ‘Hey, we’re here. We’re wondering if there’s anything we could support with, relay our experiences as undergrads or help [students] with professional skills development.’ So it wasn’t us coming into the community and saying how things should be done,” Bryan says. “It was us reaching out to the community and asking, ‘What are the needs and goals?’ And they’re going to know the needs of the community much better than we can.”
The Wisconsin Idea Fellowship is currently accepting applications for the 2023-24 session. The priority deadline for 2023-24 applications is mid-December. The Wisconsin Idea Fellowship is awarded annually to undergraduate student projects working towards addressing a challenge identified along with a local or global community partner. Projects can receive up to $7,000 in total funding and students receive three academic credits. The next information session for WIF will be hosted Friday, Nov. 10 from 12:30-1:30 p.m. virtually via Zoom. Find more information here.