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Warm Welcome

UW-Madison can seem intimidating for many students who are the first in their families to attend college or who identify as members of historically underrepresented groups. The L&S Summer Collegiate Experience (SCE) prepares these new students for success. Students get a jump on coursework, learn good study habits, find out where to go and who to ask for help, and hone their writing skills. Along the way, most end up making lifelong friends. Director Nick Ewoldt and two students offer insights on SCE’s impact, its temporary virtual format, and what it’s like to be a peer mentor.

by Mary Ellen Gabriel December 14, 2021
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This story appeared in the Fall 2021 Letters & Science magazine.

Nick Ewoldt (Photo: Paulius Musteikis)

Nick Ewoldt

Director, Summer Collegiate Experience

SCE has grown! In the early days, there were around 20 students in the program. This summer, we have the largest cohort with nearly 200 students. We canceled 2020’s program due to COVID-19, but for summer 2021, we tried a virtual format. However, the beauty of SCE is that it’s very much an in-person, lived experience. Students eat meals together, study together and live together in Tripp Residence Hall. It’s a community. We tried to replicate that remotely, but it had a different feel and we can’t wait until next summer, when we can be together on campus.

Our curriculum has changed greatly. Ten years ago, there were only two course offerings. This summer we have ten—including communication arts, computer sciences, math, political science, and, of course, writing. These mirror the broad L&S curriculum and help students fulfill general education requirements. House fellows— undergraduate peers assigned to the floors of Tripp Hall—have been part of the program since the beginning, but a few years ago, we added graduate students as house fellows. They offer a different perspective.

SCE is populated by several partner programs, including the pre-college PEOPLE program, the First Wave program, and our L&S Center for Academic Excellence program. All of these have been growing and serving more students, which means growth for SCE.

Our peer mentors model what it’s like to be a successful student at UW. They open up conversations about it. What is it like to work here? What’s it like to study abroad? What’s it like to do undergraduate research?

SCE students are talented, curious learners. But do they feel welcomed at UW? Can they find a home here? The peer-to-peer mentoring helps them envision that.

Hope Ngirwe (Photo: Paulius Musteikis)

Hope Ngirwe ’23

SCE peer mentor
HOMETOWN Spencer, Wis.
MAJOR
Communication Sciences and Disorders

I was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

We came to Wisconsin 15 years ago because there was war and we had to relocate.

I went through SCE in 2019, before the pandemic. I think that was when I came out of my shell. In SCE, not only did I get to explore different parts of myself, like my Congolese heritage, but I got to meet people who listened and wanted to get to know me. It was in SCE that I met my two best friends.

Our house fellows took us to class and created events where we’d all come in, play games and talk. They’d cook for us. They really facilitated community by bringing everyone together. We call them peer mentors now—I was a peer mentor this summer, even though it was virtual. It’s harder online, but we all worked together really well to make fun events and find our similarities.

When I first started, new in SCE, those first couple days were—oh, I didn’t know anybody! I went to events, met people from First Wave and the PEOPLE program, and soon realized we weren’t just from these different groups, we were all UW students, going through this together.

I remember we were playing this card game called Spoons. I was surrounded by a bunch of people that I didn’t know, and we were just all laughing. It didn’t matter where we were from, or what program we were from, it just mattered that we were building these connections.

This year, I am also a peer mentor for the L&S Center for Academic Excellence as well as a late-night coordinator for Housing during the weekends. After graduation, I hope to become a physician’s assistant.

Monica Prado (Photo: Paulius Musteikis)

Monica Prado ’22

SCE peer mentor
HOMETOWN Beaver Dam, Wis.
MAJOR
Psychology

I went through SCE in 2018. I remember opening my letter from UW and thinking—oh no, I have to complete this program over the summer? I’m not going to have time with my friends and family!

I was super-anxious when move-in day came, but my house fellow was so welcoming. She said, “Come on, I can help you with whatever you need or whatever questions you have.” My mom came with me from Beaver Dam and told me, “You shouldn’t be scared about anything. People seem like they care and want to see you succeed.”

It was at study table where I met people that I am still friends with to this day. SCE helped me with study habits, time management, and communicating with professors or advisors. I didn’t get much of that in high school. If it wasn’t for SCE, I would be more timid about reaching out.

SCE made me a stronger writer. When I write papers now, I remember specific skills taught by [writing instructor] Larry Edgerton.

Coming from a small high school and from a small home (I have a single mother) and going to such a big place—it was a complete culture shock to me. SCE was an important part of my transition from high school to college. It helped me feel a lot more at home.

By the end I was, like, how could I have not wanted to do this?

I was an SCE peer mentor this summer. Peer mentors do a lot of the groundwork—communicating with students, making sure they complete the work in their classes, making sure they have their laptops and other items. We are really caring people, too—we want them to have the best journey possible throughout college.
I’m also a CAE scholar, a member of the CAE advisory board, and I work in the L&S scholarships office. I’m also a part of a student organization called Badger Support Network. I’m graduating in May. After a gap year, I am thinking I want to go to law school.

Investing In Students’ Success

More than 70 students are supported in their SCE experience thanks to the Shinners Family Fund Scholarship, which supports Wisconsin residents participating in the Center for Academic Excellence.

“George Shinners cherishes the opportunity to meet the students, chat with them about what’s going on, and know that their experience is fulfilling. He’s not only interested in offering them financial support but also in how they are doing,” says Ewoldt.

“The university gave me a lot of oppor­tunities,” says Shinners, who received a BS in Psychology in 1961 and an MS in Industrial Relations in 1964. “This is a way for us to offer opportunities. I hope that every one of these students is successful. I expect them to be.”