The Odyssey Project celebrated another class graduating as its 2024 cohort set on their path to continue their education.
On May 1, 30 students from the Odyssey Project, an education program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for adults facing economic barriers to college, celebrated a milestone in their lives as they get ready to jump forward through the university. Odyssey students spent two semesters, from September through May, studying a humanities-centered curriculum to earn six credits, and shared a poem, song or editorial inspired by their studies for attendees.
“All 30 of our students made it to the end, despite incredible challenges, and I’ve seen a transformation in each one,” said Emily Auerbach, executive director of the Odyssey Project. “They’re cheering each other on. They have this newfound community within Odyssey.”
The UW Odyssey Project takes a whole family approach to breaking the cycle of generational poverty through access to education, giving adult and youth learners a voice, and increasing confidence through reading, writing, and speaking. The program started in 2003 when Auerbach and poet and journalist Jean Feraca had an idea to develop an outreach program in the humanities for nontraditional students.
Students in the Odyssey Project typically come from impoverished backgrounds — who are the targets of the program. As a result, most come from communities of color because “if you target poverty, you’re going to target racial inequity and injustice,” Auerbach said.
Many are first-generation college students or the first to receive any college credits. Some have previously attended college before but had to drop out due to hardships. Now, most are adults and most with families who came out to celebrate their achievements while still fighting battles throughout the program to take a positive step forward in their lives.
In the graduation, students had the opportunity to share a personal poem inspired by Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself,” an editorial or a persuasive piece. A few students performed their pieces in multiple languages like Blanca Laine who did hers in Ecuador’s native Kichwa.
“That’s part of our celebration of diversity and the way we hope Odyssey encourages our students to have pride in their own cultures,” Auerbach said.
(Photo by Omar Waheed)
Laine was also a recipient of the Sharon Stark Scholarship to help cover the costs of books and other expenses throughout the program. Blanca credits Odyssey with helping her gain a newfound motivation for education.
“Odyssey has brought me hope and faith to believe in myself and come out of the shadows that exist only in my imagination. I don’t feel alone anymore because I am surrounded by awesome instructors, classmates and tutors,” Laine said in the Odyssey’s Adult Oracles newsletter. “After Odyssey, I am hungry for more achievements in my life because I know what my potential is now.”
Auerbach notes that some students faced homelessness on and off, and dealt with struggles finding childcare, car accidents or surgeries, but all came to class to put their heads down and earn their credits. Students are now ready for their next steps as one has already been accepted into the Badger Ready program, a degree completion program for those facing barriers to transfer admission at UW-Madison, and has already seen an uptick in applications following the graduation ceremony.
A recent large donation is making it possible to meet the continued interest of the community after two philanthropists, Pleasant Rowland and Diane Ballweg, gifted Odyssey a significant sum to continue its mission.
“They offered a million and then a half-million-dollar gift as a challenge match, which we were then able to meet for our future funds,” Auerbach said. “We are grateful for the support of our donors, including Rowland and Ballweg, and then just in general, the widespread campus and community support.”
