Month: February 2020

From Iraq to UW–Madison

During December’s University of Wisconsin–Madison graduation ceremony at the Kohl Center, Chancellor Becky Blank singled out Umaima and her family for special mention (watch the video here). A refugee from Iraq, Umaima graduated from the UW Odyssey Project in 2016 with her mother and brother, also at UW now, while her younger siblings attended Odyssey Junior. …

Writing a new future

Isthmus, February 20 2020

A Decade of Love

Every February, we broaden our understanding of Valentine’s Day by asking Odyssey students to start an essay with “I love.” Here are samples from the past decade, including many focusing on the joy of learning: “I love Odyssey, doing my homework, and finding freedom of mind in my classroom.” —⁠Faustin, 2010 “I love discussion because …

“I Am Somebody”: Starting Second Semester

Students in the Odyssey Class of 2020 met on January 22 to start off the second half of our two-semester course. They read from the January Oracle featuring their writing from December. All students had to make a case for why they should be allowed to continue in the program. Jyneeva (above, left) wrote that …