While she was working at her two-year school, UW–Manitowoc, in 2017, the office received a call about a new program at UW–Madison called “Badger Promise,” Harrison says. She had never heard of it before, so she did research and found that the program promised free tuition to qualifying first-generation Wisconsin transfer students. “I thought ‘This is me! I can actually go to a four-year school and not worry about finances.’”

At UW–Madison, she discovered her dream major — a bachelor of science in education studies. “I was really passionate about education but knew I didn’t want to teach,” says Harrison. “The education studies degree through the School of Education had everything I wanted.”

She could focus on topics in education that interested her most and apply her business and economics skills.

“I’m loving all my classes, especially comparative education and introduction to education policy,” says Harrison. “One of the courses I will take soon is directly associated with policy around two- and four-year colleges, and how students transfer between them and perform afterward. That’s my niche. I’d like to work in educational policy, preferably at the state level. I want to give students the resources to succeed in college, no matter what environment they come from.”

What’s ahead for Harrison? She has already applied and been accepted to the master of public affairs program at UW–Madison. After that, she’s considering earning a PhD in educational leadership and policy analysis.