1. Soon to graduate at 72, UWM student reflects on the life lessons she’s learned

    Photo of nontraditional student JoAnne Potter, who brought a different perspective and energy to her classes at UW-Milwaukee. “One of the great things about having someone with such profound life experience in class is that I can see it inspiring other students to think about the process of aging and becoming a full person,” said one of the teachers, philosophy lecturer Ágúst Magnússon. (UWM Photo/Sarah Vickery)

    JoAnne Potter is 72 years old. That makes her among a very small group of older seniors working on a bachelor’s degree at UWM, and almost certainly the oldest student ever in the Honors College. She’s set to graduate this month with her bachelor’s degree, 55 years after she first began college. Though she’s learning […]

  2. UW-Eau Claire student, firefighter Albert Lin serves the greater good

    Photo of University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire biology student Albert Lin, who graduates May 2024

    University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire biology student Albert Lin did not expect his undergraduate experience to include fighting fires and saving lives. The Evansville native attended UW-Eau Claire with plans to focus primarily on his academics. But he soon learned of a public-service opportunity from a peer in his chemistry course about becoming a firefighter for […]

  3. Adan E. Cordova: The Foundation to Fearlessly Dream

    Photo of Adan Cordova, the 2024 Student Commencement Speaker for the 2 p.m. ceremony at UW-Green Bay on Saturday, May 11, 2024.

    It’s 4:15 AM, and Adan Cordova’s day has already begun. In the pre-dawn stillness, while the rest of his family still sleeps, he silently hurries to catch a ride to be at work by six. Then, he puts in a twelve-hour day before returning home. These hours would probably be considered typical for the soon-to-be […]

  4. Maroon immersion: Mentorship was key to unlocking UWL May grad’s opportunities from graduate research to teaching assistantship

    Photo of Vanessa Mbuyi Kaja, ‘21, a cellular and molecular biology graduate student who will graduate in May. Mbuyi earned an undergraduate degree from UW-La Crosse in microbiology.

    Vanessa Mbuyi Kaja’s journey from a young, science-oriented student in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to a graduate student, teacher assistant and researcher at UW-La Crosse started with a color: maroon. Mbuyi saw the color on a brochure at her English as a Second Language school (ESL) in Madison, Wisconsin, and it reminded her […]

  5. UW-River Falls program engages youth in water science, stewardship

    Photo of local high schoolers learning about water science with university faculty and students.

    Offering 22 miles of world-class trout fishing and other recreational activities, the beloved Kinnickinnic River runs through the city of River Falls and the UW-River Falls campus. The community and the campus are invested in its health. So, it was no surprise the Youth Water Stewards pilot program, funded by the Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin, […]

  6. Put to the test: UW-Stout engineering seniors working on 20+ yearlong, industry-sponsored projects

    Photo of Mechanical engineering students Deric McConnell and Grace Goodreid demonstrate a 3D printed prototype for their toy assembly system project in the Senior Design Experience course. / UW-Stout

    Students in the manufacturing, mechanical and computer and electrical engineering programs at UW-Stout are fully engaged in the lab-based — polytechnic — learning environment. It’s part of their bachelor’s degree experience from the get-go — doing more on day one. When they reach Senior Design Experience courses, however, the applied learning focus goes up a […]

  7. UWSP at Wausau MBA student making her mark as an entrepreneur

    Photo of Chee Yang, a UWSP at Wausau MBA student who has started multiple businesses and speaks at conferences and competitions about her success.

    University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point at Wausau student Chee Yang has learned to overcome difficulties and form her own identity to make her impact in Central Wisconsin. From being a member of a first-generation Hmong American family to graduating with her MBA from the UWSP at Wausau campus this May, she has paved her way by […]

  8. UW-Milwaukee engineer helps create sensors of foodborne bacteria using quantum dots

    Photo of Qingsu Cheng, assistant professor of biomedical engineering at UWM, who is part of a team developing low-cost biosensors that can quickly identify foodborne bacteria using the fluorescence of quantum dots. (UWM Photo/Troye Fox)

    A vial of nanocrystals suspended in a solution looks clear, like water. But shine ultraviolet light on these nanoscale crystals, called quantum dots, and you’ll see florescent green, orange or red, depending on the material in the crystals. That’s just the behavior that Qingsu Cheng will take advantage of in new collaborative research funded by […]

  9. UW–Madison researchers develop better way to make painkiller from trees

    Photo of Scientists Steve Karlen and Vitaliy Tymokhin look over a reactor they used for their research on converting biomass into paracetamol.

    Scientists at the University of Wisconsin–Madison have developed a cost-effective and environmentally sustainable way to make a popular pain reliever and other valuable products from plants instead of petroleum. Building on a previously patented method for producing paracetamol – the active ingredient in Tylenol – the discovery promises a greener path to one of the […]

  10. A spotlight on working students: UWL senior’s research reveals realities for students balancing jobs and academics

    Photo of Sidney Paulson who represented UWL at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research April 8-10. Her research is on working students and their struggles balancing classes and work responsibilities.

    Sidney Paulson, a senior at UW-La Crosse, stumbled upon the inspiration for an undergraduate research project during her ethnographic methods class. The inability of a group of students to coordinate a time to meet outside class due to their demanding work schedules sparked Paulson’s curiosity about the challenges faced by working students in balancing their […]