overcoming adversity and achieving dreams through higher education
UW–Madison may be only an hour’s drive from the Huber Correctional facility, but for Michael Lozano, caught in a cycle of incarceration, it might as well have been on the moon. By the time he was a teenager, Michael had committed felonies that became roadblocks to employment or anything else Michael tried to pursue to …
The Odyssey Project is excited to announce the addition of two new staff members/literacy instructors, Erin Celello and Ben Shannon. Both Erin and Ben trace their passion for Odyssey’s mission in part to a parent who was a first-generation college student, and both look forward to providing instruction for Odyssey alumni or Odyssey Beyond Bars …
July marks the official start of the 20th year of the UW Odyssey Project. Thirty new students have been selected to form the Class of 2023. Beginning in September, they will receive two semesters of free evening instruction in the humanities. “Having interviewed students all last month, I’m so excited to begin our 20th year …
Joy discovered Odyssey while working as a custodian at UW and found the program life-changing, a place where she felt unconditional love from staff determined to remove obstacles that got in her way. Five years later, Joy now contributes to Odyssey as one of more than 50 donors who have arranged for automatic monthly payments, …
As she stepped to the podium to accept her YWCA-Madison Woman of Distinction award last month, Odyssey teacher and Friends of Odyssey board member Professor Christy Clark-Pujara said, “I would like to thank Emily Auerbach for nominating me and serving as a role model for a community-serving, community-engaged scholar.” Wiping away tears, she called Odyssey …
2022 UW Odyssey Project graduation ceremony Odyssey Class of 2022 student video 2022 graduation photo gallery 2022 graduation Oracle
Every writer is a storyteller. That is the common bond that is shared among us. I write because it helps to free the thoughts and ideals that have always lived within me. This ability to create, to allow myself to live in a world that I created, was something that I had to rediscover. —Karshara, …
When Senator Tammy Baldwin visited the Odyssey Project, she asked alumni in the room how they discovered the free UW humanities program. Michelle Bozeman responded: “You asked me, ‘Did I find Odyssey or did Odyssey find me?’ My answer is, ‘We found each other because we needed each other.’” Michelle then shared her 30-year journey …
“One of the most impactful programs in our state, the UW Odyssey Project has completely transformed my life and the lives of many others,” noted Corey Saffold as he donned cap and gown this month to mark his bachelor’s degree. Corey, whose daughter and grandson graduated from Odyssey and Odyssey Junior, credits the multigenerational Odyssey …
Why do I write? It’s simple. I write for me! I write to find me. I write to know me. I write to speak to myself so I can talk to you. Writing is my voice. It helps me feel and connect. – Anthony, student in English 100 at Oakhill Correctional In Odyssey Beyond Bars’s English …