On May 10-11, UW–Madison and the School of Education will celebrate its latest cohort of talented graduates with 2024 Spring Commencement celebrations. Ahead of this big weekend, we reached out to a few of our graduating students to learn more about their accomplishments, time at UW–Madison, and future plans.
Liliana Chavez is graduating with a BS in both education studies and political science. In addition, she is earning certificates in Chican@/Latin@ studies and public policy.
“UW–Madison was a school I did not know much about, but I knew it was highly ranked in education and I was interested in entering this field in some capacity,” says Chavez, who is from Round Lake Beach, Illinois. “I liked the atmosphere of a big school with a lot of opportunities.”
From there, Chavez met some of the most influential individuals of her college experience, who helped guide her to her academic goals and beyond.
“My most meaningful experiences at UW–Madison are all around the people I have met,” she says.
Read on to learn more about Chavez:
Did a particular class or faculty or staff member have a significant impact on you? (Department of Educational Policy Studies undergraduate and event coordinator) Michael Dixon has really helped me by giving me opportunities to speak about my experiences and to connect with faculty while I served as an Educational Policy Studies Ambassador.
My mentor, Dr. Linn Posey-Maddox, has been my most influential relationship. Dr. Posey-Maddox was my main professor in my Education Studies FIG (first-year interest group) and I have been connected with her ever since my freshman year Zoom days. She has supported me through acting as a research mentor and as a support for networking. She has also given me advice on graduate studies and more. Overall, Dr. Posey-Maddox, along with many other wonderful faculty from the Department of Educational Policy Studies, have largely shaped my college experience in an incredibly positive way through their endless support in helping me work towards my future goals.
I understand you are part of the McNair Scholars program. Can you tell me how that has impacted your education? The McNair Scholars program has significantly supported my journey toward a graduate degree in education. They helped me to engage in research as an undergraduate student, present my research at conferences, read over my graduate school application essays, and supported me when it came time to make a decision. This program helped to further my future goals and has given me great mentors in the field of research and graduate studies overall.
What’s next for you? I am going to attend the University of Pittsburgh for my PhD in Urban Education. I am excited to further my journey into educational research and continue learning about education policies and any room for reimagining education.
Thinking about the principle of the Wisconsin Idea, how will you use what you have learned at UW–Madison to influence other people’s lives or positively impact our world? I am interested in conducting research around Latinx students in education and I feel that this is an incredibly important area that needs to be further emphasized in research. I see research as an avenue for change to occur, as research can interact with both school policies and practices. I believe that this embodies the principle of the Wisconsin Idea as I work to positively impact our educational system for future generations of Latinx students.