Lead the Way
Brenna says she was 3 years old when she first knew about her autism.
“I’ve lived it,” she said. “This program helped me feel confident in it.”
Now 20 years old, Brenna was one of 25 young people who attended the Wisconsin Youth Leadership Forum (YLF), a six-day program in July that aimed to help youth with disabilities learn more about leadership, self-advocacy, and career awareness. Co-led by a School of Education faculty member, Carlyn Mueller, this year’s program was also supported by a community-based research grant from UW–Madison.
“At home, I don’t see many people with disabilities,” Brenna said. “Being here makes me feel less alone.”
YLF offers its attendees — whose average age is 17 — a fruitful mix of academic and personal growth opportunities, from panel and small group discussions to an end-of-week talent show and dance. “You can see the development that takes place over the week,” said Mueller, an assistant professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Psychology and Special Education. The majority of the adult staff at YLF also have disabilities. The adults serve as counselors and facilitators during the program and speak about their personal and professional paths to success. “It’s a vision into the future in that way for the youth,” Mueller said. Read more about YLF at go.wisc.edu/YLF.
To a ‘T’
Art alumna Emily Balsley was one of four Wisconsin artists who designed for the Milwaukee Brewers’ “T-shirt Tuesdays” promotion last season.
Balsley, who graduated in 2001 with a degree in graphic design from the School of Education’s Art Department, was selected to create a design for the Brewers’ new “T-shirt Tuesdays” promotion.
Balsley’s illustration, which highlights the fan experience at American Family Field, was featured on 10,000 shirts distributed to fans at the Aug. 12 game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. She also threw the ceremonial first pitch that evening.
Game On
A team of Curriculum and Instruction students was recently honored by the international Games for Change competition.
The student group — including Sam Askling, Uzen Huang, Sukrit Kapahi, Jiayi Yan, and Lauren Turf — participated with classmates in the Games for Change Student Challenge: Outplay Hunger. The challenge called on students to design a game around two key issues: reducing food loss and waste, and achieving a healthy food diet in their school, community, or country. Using the design tool of their choice, students were tasked with creating a game that would both inform players and inspire them to take action.
The students’ game, Bloomfield, was named Best Outplay Hunger Game in the awards’ university age division. Bloomfield sheds light on the complexity of farming and the food chain.
Krista-Lee Malone, a teaching assistant professor and instructor with the Game Design Certificate program, says she was “ecstatic” and “so proud” of the team’s recognition.
Good Sports
In October, David Bell, a professor in the Department of Kinesiology, shared his latest research on how specializing in one sport can affect the health of young athletes in a panel hosted by the National Athletic Trainers’ Association. Bell recently co-authored a study published by the British Journal of Sports Medicine that created a new tool to more accurately measure youth sport specialization.
Youth sport specialization is defined as “the intentional and focused participation in a single sport for a majority of the year that restricts opportunities for engagement in other sports and activities.” The new tool considers the physical, motivational, and social characteristics of sport participation.
“By including these characteristics when assessing an athlete’s level of specialization, our tool offers a more nuanced measurement that will give us a deeper understanding of how specialization affects youth on multiple levels,” Bell says.
He says advancing knowledge around youth sport specialization could benefit many young athletes in Wisconsin and across the country.
“We care about youth sport specialization because it’s ubiquitous in youth sport,” Bell said during the panel. “This is growing into a public health issue.”
Theatre Thrills
The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival honored University Theatre’s recent production of “Dance Nation” with several Certificates of Merit, recognizing the outstanding work of the ensemble, costume designer Rebekah Jacobs, and dance soloist Megan McCarty. The organization also nominated Amelie Rosenhagen and Ava Childs for acting scholarships in recognition of their exceptional performances.
Written by Pulitzer Prize finalist Clare Barron, “Dance Nation” follows a team of pre-teen dancers from “somewhere in America” as they aim to claw their way to victory at the Boogie Down Grand Prix in Tampa Bay. But these young performers have more than pliés and jetés on their minds. They are also grappling with identity and navigating the challenges of growing up — all while dancing their hearts out.
“Each character was physically unique … and unrelenting in their support of one another,” the Kennedy Center review said of the ensemble.