Odyssey Beyond Bars

Transforming lives through higher education in Wisconsin prisons since 2015

How Does OBB Create Paths to Success?

Odyssey Beyond Bars (OBB) offers college jumpstart programs to students incarcerated in Wisconsin state prisons, creating meaningful pathways to higher education and long-term success beyond completion of the program. OBB offers both noncredit and for-credit courses, complemented by ongoing support though tutoring, academic advising, and a growing alumni support network.

Many OBB alumni use their education as a first step toward earning a college degree and as a foundation for success as they leave prison and return to their communities.

OBB is a part of the UW Odyssey Project, which for 23 years has empowered students living in poverty to overcome obstacles, find their voices, and reframe their futures.

Hear It From Our Students

“This class has already opened my eyes to a better life for myself.”

“The program lit a fire in me to get an education.”

“The Odyssey Beyond Bars program was a journey in self-discovery for me.”

“The most important thing I learned was that I could succeed in a place where a person feels like a loser.”

“I gained a confidence that I had felt I had lost.”

Learn More

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Supporting Odyssey Beyond Bars

Support Odyssey Beyond Bars by clicking the button below. All donations are tax deductible. For questions, please contact Jenny Pressman, Director of Development and Community Partnerships, at jenny.pressman@wisc.edu.

Support the Odyssey Beyond Bars fund

OBB in the News

OBB students Abigail, Holly, Shanita, and Samantha have a class discussion at Taycheedah Correctional in fall 2024.

Odyssey Beyond Bars expands to its first women’s correctional facility in Fall 2024

OBB’s first course for incarcerated women welcomed 12 students at Taycheedah Correctional Institution as new Badgers. The students, who ranged in age from 25 to 55, quickly identified something they all had in common: a passion for lifelong learning. Many shared they had spent years on waitlists for educational programming before being accepted to OBB. “I’m proud to be a student once again,” Holly shared in her commencement speech for the program–a sentiment that had only grown since new student orientation. “I came to this class as a seed, a potential waiting to be planted. Now, at the end of the semester, I am leaving with a piece of me that I have brought to life, something that I have awakened inside of me that will continue to grow.“

Odyssey Beyond Bars receives state award for prison education

The University of Wisconsin–Madison Odyssey Beyond Bars (OBB) program received the Wisconsin State Public Defender’s Eisenberg Award for its work in giving people who are incarcerated the ability to take college courses and improve their lives.

“The Odyssey Beyond Bars program is giving those incarcerated a chance to expand their minds and explore their opportunities once they return to their communities,” said Public Defender Board Chair James M. Brennan. “That’s critical to their success going forward, and we applaud these efforts.”