Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to change the acronym WRS to WiRS.
The University of Wisconsin’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, in partnership with the Wisconsin Rural Partnerships Institute, hosted the first Wisconsin Rural Scholars Program this past June as a way to regain attention of students from rural areas.
Dean Glenda Gillaspy said the WiRS program invites rising high school seniors to explore the idea of attending college at UW, with a focus on the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.
The WiRS program at UW was created in response to feedback from students across Wisconsin, particularly those in rural areas, who felt that UW offered them limited opportunities, Gillaspy said.
“What I was struck by was that as a public land grant institution, this should be a great choice for a student from a rural area in Wisconsin … but some people felt that we were not,” Gillaspy said. “And that was really the beginning of thinking about how we can engage some students and some teachers to show them what it’s like to be a student at Madison.”
Seven districts including 26 students and seven teachers participated in this pilot program where students had the opportunity to explore what being a student in Madison is like, Gillaspy said.
Students attended lectures, labs, stayed in the dorms and ate at the residential halls as a way to explore what the Wisconsin Idea is about.
Gillaspy said the pilot WiRS program was a huge success.
During their stay, students made road maps from the start of their stay to their last moments in Madison, recording their thoughts on what they want to do in life and how they want to do it, Gillaspy said. On the last day, students finalized their road maps and all were hung up so educators could come and talk to students about their aspirations.
Gillaspy said students who previously thought UW would not be an option for them soon felt at home on campus and looked forward to the possibility of being able to attend school in Madison.
“So that was just inspirational, I would say, for me as an educator and a person who works with students from another perspective, and this goal of sharing that this is their public land grant university, this is their place,” Gillaspy said.
Gillaspy began communicating with WiRS program director Tanya Cutsforth last fall, brainstorming ideas that would encourage Wisconsin high schoolers to attend UW.
Cutsforth worked privately with high school students in 2021, informing them about opportunities they can participate in while going to college, Cutsforth said.
“We, as a university, have a lot of people, have a lot of skills, have a lot of resources … around advising and student services, and we can be delivering some of that to our communities around the state in a way that’s meaningful,” Cutsforth said.
The best way to achieve this goal is to not only gain the interest of the students, but to incorporate the teachers to make sure that this program is stable, Cutsforth said.
The WiRS Program is a component of a large project through the Wisconsin Rural Partnerships Institute, founded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cutsforth said.
The Rural Partnerships Institute is an additional constituent in making the WiRS program possible, co-director of the Rural Partnerships Institute Paul Mitchell said.
The university’s Wisconsin Rural Partnerships Institute is part of a broader $28 million USDA-funded Institute for Rural Partnerships, based at UW–Madison, Auburn University and the University of Vermont, Mitchell said.
“The big thing is they’re [Rural Partnerships Institutes] are all focused on trying to do something to address practical problems that Wisconsin citizens face in these rural areas,” Mitchell said. “That’s the driving, unifying thing.”
The Wisconsin Rural Partnerships institute, in particular, focuses on addressing a variety of issues in rural Wisconsin and works with outreach sources to follow up and help make change possible, Mitchell said.
These topics can range from Wisconsin’s poor groundwater quality in rural areas to mental health support, Mitchell said.
Student, family and community oriented mental health initiatives are supported by the UW School of Education and the School of Human Ecology, Mitchell said.
Mitchell said continuing to host this program will encourage more diversity throughout the student body at UW.
“For the typical UW student, having exposure to some of these rules, people from rural backgrounds and small towns, I think it’s helped them understand the world is even bigger for them as well, getting a better sense that there are other ways of living here, even in Wisconsin just few miles from where you grew up,” Mitchell said.
As a result of the program’s success, both Gillaspy and Cutsforth are looking to form more connections with other schools around the state in order to gain a broader base of high school students, Cutsforth said.
Additionally, the program is seeking to gain more connections with teachers and educators from around the state as a way of advancing the information platform for Wisconsin students.
“I think that the overarching thing is we see the wide potential in our students,” Cutsforth said. “And it’s exciting when we can land them in our college to really help prepare that next generation of change makers because we really need you all.”
