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Odyssey in the news
The Class of 2025 Rises
“This was the most amazing and eye-opening experience I have ever had,” said Adrianne, and classmate Mickey noted, “I am grateful that Odyssey built a bridge that helped me return to education. We will all …
May 12, 2025Celebrating our remarkable alumnae
What better time to celebrate Odyssey’s resilient women students than March, known as International Women’s History Month and a time to honor trailblazers? Our own alumnae exemplify the spirit of resilience and determination that this …
March 4, 2025
Exemplary Lifelong Learner
The Wells Family: A Legacy of Learning Across Generations “Returning to school after a 76-year hiatus is no small feat!” writes Mary Wells, Odyssey Class of 2007, about her 92-year-old mother. “It takes courage, determination, …
June 17, 2024
A Badger Spring – Day of the Badger 2024
Odyssey Rocks Day of the Badger! For the past few years, Odyssey has finished in the top ten on the leaderboard for the Day of the Badger, a spirited day of giving (and some good-natured …
April 22, 2024
The Power to Change Lives: Two Decades of the UW Odyssey Project
Read the full article here: Badger Talks
March 12, 2024Loving our million-dollar match!
We did it! YOU did it! Odyssey met its million-dollar match goal! We thank Pleasant Rowland and Diane Ballweg for their generosity and our donors for helping ensure Odyssey’s future. We reached our goal in …
February 12, 2024
Celebrating 30 Years of A Fund for Women
At their annual event on Thursday, May 18, the Madison Community Foundation celebrated 30 years of A Fund for Women, and the Odyssey Project (and alumnus Char Braxton) was prominently featured in AFFW’s anniversary video. …
May 23, 2023
Amplifying voices: The UW Madison Odyssey Project
Smith recalls family and friends commenting on her unique ability to express herself in writing, but she did not give it attention. However, the Odyssey program ignited her passion for writing. “I live for writing!” …
May 19, 2023
UW Odyssey Project hosts 20th Anniversary Celebration
“I will just tell you real quickly what Odyssey was to me,” Ward explained. “Everybody in here is a seed. If you know anything about seeds, they have everything that they need inside of them …
April 26, 2023
The Odyssey Project celebrates 20 years
NBC15′s Leigh Mills sat down with Brian Benford, a member of the Odyssey Class of 2007 and a Madison alder, and his therapy dog Duke Ellington. Benford talks about how the project has had an …
April 18, 2023
Through newest UW Odyssey Project’s senior program, people rediscover themselves
Brown and Phillips said their age made them feel out of place when they first enrolled in the Odyssey Project more than a decade ago. The younger students seemed to be more advanced in their …
April 7, 2023
UW Odyssey to help veterans transition into college with ‘Beyond Wars’ program
The Odyssey Project will start a new initiative specifically for veterans, named Odyssey Beyond Wars. It joins the project’s umbrella of offerings, which includes the original Odyssey Project, which serves people with financial or other …
January 3, 2023
UW Odyssey Project launches free education initiative for veterans
Odyssey Beyond Wars focuses on reading and writing in the humanities as a way for students to process their military experience and adjust to civilian life. Through discussions of texts ranging from classics to modern …
November 14, 2022
UW-Madison program helps veterans transition to civilian life
MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) – Transitioning from military to civilian life can be tough, but there’s a new program through the UW Odyssey Project that aims to help veterans continue their education. Odyssey literacy instructor Erin …
November 14, 2022
Why Vote? Voices from the UW Odyssey Project
My vote will tell my children and grandchildren that I stood against corruption and racism and that I don’t ignore the past but learn from it. My vote will tell my friends that I care …
October 17, 2022
UW Odyssey Project celebrates 20 years of taking a whole family approach to empowering students
“Here I was in my late 40s and I never thought I would have an opportunity to reach my full potential through education. But because of Odyssey, I was able to do that and go …
October 13, 2022
UW Odyssey Project turns 20: Grads recount how it’s changed their lives
“Being in the Odyssey Project had a tremendous impact on my life because it doesn’t end, you don’t just graduate and then boom, you’re just done. I remain connected. The Odyssey Project has been supportive …
October 13, 2022
‘It’s time to exercise that right to vote’: The Odyssey Project prepares students to head to the polls
The Odyssey Project at UW Madison hosted their biennial “Why Vote” event Wednesday, reminding students who are trying to break the cycle of generational poverty their vote matters. The Odyssey Project, now celebrating their 20th anniversary, …
October 13, 2022
UW Odyssey Project: 20 years of amplifying student voices
MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) – Overcoming adversity and achieving their dreams through higher education — it’s what many students have successfully done over the past 20 years through the UW-Madison Odyssey Project. Wednesday, October 12 marks …
October 13, 2022
Odyssey celebrates 20 years of helping non-traditional students
MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) – An organization celebrated 20 years of helping non-traditional students receive education, financial help and more. Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway declared today as Odyssey Day. Wednesday night’s celebration focused on voting and …
October 13, 2022
UW-Odyssey Project Celebrates 19th Graduating Class
Corey Saffold, an Odyssey graduate in 2006, is celebrating receiving his bachelor’s degree this year. Saffold and Co-Director and Founder Emily Auerbach sat down with NBC15 Friday afternoon to talk about the impact of the …
May 9, 2022
Former professor, “Odyssey dad” Robert Auerbach receives philanthropy award
“At a November 11 ceremony, Robert “Bob” Auerbach – UW professor emeritus and father of UW Odyssey Project Co-Director Emily Auerbach – accepted a 2021 Outstanding Individual Philanthropist award from the Association of Fundraising Professionals-Greater …
November 19, 2021
Odyssey Project puts Wisconsin Idea into Action
“For over a century, UW-Madison has been guided by the Wisconsin Idea: the principle that higher education should influence and benefit people’s lives outside the traditional boundaries of the classroom. The Odyssey Project, which offers …
October 14, 2021
INSIDE STORIES: Otis Harris Jr.
In this episode, Otis shares the moments that shaped his manhood and led him to see himself in a different light. We listen to a story Otis Harris Jr told a few yeas ago as …
August 19, 2021
UW Odyssey Project Class of 2021
Despite battling COVID, deaths of loved ones, homelessness, domestic abuse, parenting stress, lost wages, and physical and mental health challenges, the UW-Madison Odyssey Class of 2021 beat the odds. Thirty-five students graduated in a virtual …
July 6, 2021
The UW-Odyssey Project shines a light on George Floyd’s death
“We linked the George Floyd killing to centuries of racial injustice,” explained Auerbach. The program studied Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Langston Hughes and others. “We link today to what we’re reading from …
May 28, 2021
UW program will teach for-credit college courses in Wisconsin prisons
Channel 3000, May 18 2021
May 19, 2021
Madison Writing Assistance Celebration of Writing 2021: Sharing Stories, Writing for Change
With the Story Exchange, we wanted to create a virtual space where folks could share short stories about their relationship with writing, in the hope that these stories would inspire others to recognize their labor …
May 18, 2021“This class has been heroic and inspiring in their resilience.”
The heartache and the hardship for this class has been overwhelming, but so has the perseverance and the courage, -UW Odyssey Project Director Emily Auerbach tells Madison365. The University of Wisconsin-Madison Odyssey Project, now in …
May 18, 2021
Finding a Voice, against All Odds
“To Corey Saffold, who graduated from the Odyssey Course in 2006, the class’s humanities focus was critical. “You really begin to find your voice in those moments because you’re inspired by [them],” he says of …
March 1, 2021
From Odyssey to a Cap and Gown
“In the UW Odyssey Project in Madison, WI, co-director/founder Emily Auerbach and the entire team work to assure that the pathway from the Odyssey classroom to a college degree is as clear and smooth as possible for …
January 29, 2021
Wisconsin is making progress to help more inmates get college educations – ‘which can completely redefine a life’
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, December 24 2020
December 24, 2020
UW’s Tommy Thompson: Turn Wisconsin Prison into College for Inmates
“My ultimate goal — but that’s in a year or two or three years — is to have one prison turn into an educational institution,” Thompson said. “And instead of having a swinging door coming in and going …
December 7, 2020
League of Women Voter’s December Bulletin 2020
Please refer to pages 7-8 for Odyssey Beyond Bars “One of the most significant outcomes following the decennial U.S. Census is the process of redistricting, which redraws state legislative and congressional district boundaries for electoral …
December 7, 2020
Empty Stocking Club
‘Empty Stocking is literally delivering Christmas to some families’ GAYLE WORLAND For the State Journal The Empty Stocking Club, a Wisconsin State Journal charity for children since 1918, is funded by the generous donations of …
December 6, 2020
Dig Deeper During This Season of Giving
“In this season of goodwill, donations of time and money are needed now more than ever. The economic fallout from the pandemic has touched all of us, but very disproportionately. Witness recent market highs that …
December 4, 2020- More news articles
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