Forward Motion - The Odyssey Project
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Odyssey in the news
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’
By Devi Shastri Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Michael Backman calls his wife on the day he was released from prison. Backman was a student in the UW Odyssey Beyond Bars program, one of several prison education …
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
Odyssey Beyond Bars provides opportunities for personal transformation and empowerment through prison education
“The desire for this kind of material is very strong and it has been a great match. Many of the things that have made Odyssey successful in the community – that engagement, that wraparound approach …
October 18, 2020
New UW acting prof Baron Kelly uses arts to open doors
Related to Patrick Sims’ later Theatre for Cultural and Social Awareness (TCSA) and connected to Kelly’s own work with Odyssey, Kelly saw the class as a path in to higher education for students of color. …
October 17, 2020
Voting Ambassadors
In her essay Robinson references the racism that courses through U.S. history, but refuses to cede her connection to the country and her right to participate in its governance. “This is ‘OUR’ country,” she writes. …
October 16, 2020
Odyssey Project students and local leaders to celebrate voting at online event
For Hedi Rudd, the decision to vote is both personal and powerful. In her award-winning essay for the 2020 “Why Vote?” project contest, she writes of the significance of her vote: “My vote will tell …
September 18, 2020
Student’s remarkable journey to starting his undergraduate degree at age 28, living his dream
After 20 years, nearly 6,000 miles and a host of trials and tribulations, Walada started at the University of Wisconsin–Madison as a first-year student majoring in biochemistry this fall, with plans to eventually go to …
September 17, 2020
Seeing the big picture: District security coordinator Saffold named to UW Regents
In June, Saffold was named a University of Wisconsin System Regent, joining 17 other Regents as the non-traditional student representative. The Board of Regents governs over the state-wide University of Wisconsin System and addresses the …
September 16, 2020
Editorial: Meeting the immediate needs of UW’s Odyssey Project
“The UW Odyssey Project, providing free humanities courses for adults near the poverty level, received a new $3 million endowment a few weeks ago. Major gifts from Pleasant Rowland and John and Tashia Morgridge among …
July 17, 2020
New $3 Million Endowment will enable UW Odyssey Project to continue to combat inequalities
“In the midst of a highly insecure time, the University of Wisconsin–Madison Odyssey Project secured $3 million in gifts, a base for the future of Odyssey and its transformational work in breaking the cycle of generational poverty …
July 16, 2020
Odyssey student triumphs over the odds to get his master’s degree as an older adult
“We must give men and women in our marginalized communities more opportunities to develop their voices, and we must equip people entangled in the criminal justice system with the tools they need to transcend it.”
June 16, 2020
Brian Benford announces bid to succeed Fred Risser in Wisconsin Senate
“The 60-year-old father of five has spent the last three decades supporting Madison’s most vulnerable and marginalized population working for community-based organizations in a variety of roles. The former alderperson for Madison’s District 12 on …
May 18, 2020
Virtual graduation for UW-Madison students overcoming adversity
“Our families are hit hard because they’re already struggling paycheck to paycheck,” Auerbach said. “If they’re laid off, they can’t provide food on the table, can’t provide the basics. It’s really hard to think about …
May 17, 2020
Odyssey Project online graduation full of pride, community, love
“Odyssey Director Emily Auerbach opened the ceremony: “This is our 17th year, and we’ve never done something like this before. Though we can’t be in a grand ballroom and share hugs, we can still be together …
May 16, 2020
Coronavirus pandemic presents UW Odyssey Project with unprecedented challenges
“This pandemic has really highlighted the discrepancies, especially for students of color who have already been struggling with lower incomes and fewer resources, and now are being hit disproportionately hard by schools closing and jobs …
April 17, 2020
Pandemic Hit UW Odyssey Hard
“This crisis highlights economic inequities. To meet online with Odyssey’s class of 2020, we delivered rented laptops to students dependent on libraries to connect. But how can students focus on Socrates and Toni Morrison when …
April 16, 2020
UW Odyssey Beyond Bars project offered first opportunity for prisoners to earn college credits in Wisconsin in 100 years
“I’m happy to say that Wisconsin is now on board with offering credit-bearing courses to students in prison,” Moreno said. “There’s a tremendous demand for them. When we finished the English 100 class this last …
March 16, 2020
Writing a new future
“[Odyssey Beyond Bars] provokes something in you that makes you want to dig into who you are and question who you are,” says Lewis. “It has given me an opportunity to examine my experiences; it …
February 16, 2020
UW Odyssey Project raises record amount to help transform lives
“Odyssey is an expression of the Wisconsin Idea, where education is accessible to all citizens and learners,” said UW–Madison Vice Provost for Lifelong Learning and Dean of Continuing Studies Jeff Russell. “By allowing access, Odyssey …
November 16, 2019
Odyssey Project featured in new podcast
The cross-currents of the stories from students in UW–Madison’s Odyssey Project reflect the beat of daily life, sometimes fraught with emotion, sometimes light, carrying meanings that entertain and inspire listeners.
August 16, 2019
2019 UW Odyssey Project Graduation: Success Despite Adversity
The 2019 UW Odyssey Project graduation was truly a family affair. Held this year on May 8th at the UW Memorial Union, the 16th class of Odyssey graduates was joined by their families, faculty and …
June 16, 2019
LEAD Evaluation Affirms Lasting Benefits of the Odyssey Project
A Madison community program that works to jump-start the college careers of low-income adults through a free six-credit humanities course is yielding more than just academic benefits for many students, according to the first external …
May 16, 2019
Celebrating National Poetry Month with the UW Odyssey Project
To celebrate national poetry month, the Capital City Hues published poetry from all 30 of this year’s Odyssey students!
April 17, 2019
WCER Evaluators Find Literacy Program for Low-Income Kids Creates ‘Safe Place’ for Learning
Known as Odyssey Junior, the program works because its welcoming atmosphere allows children to build self-confidence and become more self-reliant. Those are empowering characteristics that create hope for the future as readily as the love of …
April 16, 2019
Chance at education inspires love and generous gift
Believing in the power of education to break a cycle of generational poverty, Bob chose at the time of Wanda’s death to use her retirement account to start an endowment to benefit Odyssey students. Now …
March 18, 2019
The Radical
Read about Odyssey’s Assistant Director of Development and Community Partnerships, Jenny Pressman, and her decades of social justice work.
March 17, 2019
Odyssey Project, Badger Ready Help Local Dad Resume Dream of Earning a Bachelor’s Degree
Albert Watson had a great deal on his plate, including working and raising a family, when he applied to the University of Wisconsin–Madison Odyssey Project. At the time, it was hard to see past the obstacles …
March 16, 2019
Colleen Johnson: Helping People Achieve The College Dream
“Often people don’t find a community of other working parents who face similar obstacles and are succeeding,” says Johnson. “We have drop-in tutoring two nights a week, celebrations, picnics, a Facebook group, a clinical social …
January 16, 2019
Socrates meets Susan B. Anthony at Odyssey Project’s Night of the Living Humanities
You can find Frankenstein’s monster at many Halloween parties, but only at Night of the Living Humanities will he mingle with the likes of Socrates, Sojourner Truth, and Susan B. Anthony. On Oct. 25, the …
October 17, 2018
Why Vote? Voices from the UW Odyssey Project
The UW Odyssey Project, an award-winning jump-start program in the humanities for adults overcoming adversity, sponsored a contest for the best short essay convincing non-voters to vote. This article contains excerpts from 15 participants, both …
October 16, 2018
Night of the Living Humanities celebrates the Odyssey Project’s life-changing power
“Derrick was someone who didn’t even know his own gifts, but who found his voice and recognized his own power in the course,” Auerbach says. “When people explore works of art, they see themselves and …
September 17, 2018
Odyssey Program helps people get back on their feet
The Odyssey Project helps create an opportunity for people who had given up on or been forced to avoid pursuing higher education.
September 16, 2018
UW Odyssey Class of 2018 Graduation Ceremony Will Feature Guest Speaker Judge Everett Mitchell
The greater Madison community is invited to attend the inspiring and memorable graduation ceremony for students of the UW Odyssey Project class of 2018 on May 2 at the Great Hall of Memorial Union that …
April 18, 2018
New report shows Odyssey Project’s profound impact on families
In 2008 Sherri Bester graduated from the Odyssey Project, University of Wisconsin-Madison’s two-semester humanities course for adults facing obstacles to a college education. That achievement inspired her daughter Keziah, who participated in a related program …
April 17, 2018
Three years in, UW South Madison Partnership shows strong growth
It is both a physical space and a broader philosophy, one rooted in building relationships — connecting UW–Madison with an area whose residents historically have had less access to the university.
April 16, 2018
Celebrating 15 Years of the Odyssey Project
“I want to learn more, I want to listen more, I want to grow more,” writes Bruce Moore as he completes this year’s two semester Odyssey Project.
March 31, 2018
Odyssey Project student a cheerleader for others, and for herself
“I wish cancer got cancer and died.” This was Tandalaya Taylor’s seven-word poem for a class assignment through the Odyssey Project at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
March 29, 2018- More news articles