On Dec. 18, UW–Madison will celebrate its Winter 2022 Commencement. We reached out to a few of our students who are graduating from programs in the School of Education to learn about their favorite UW–Madison memories and future plans. Following is a Q&A with Emilie Springsteen who is graduating with a bachelor’s degree in theatre and drama, with an additional major in history.
Where are you from, and what brought you to UW–Madison?
I am from Cumberland, Wisconsin. I applied to Madison on a whim; I was curious to see if I would get accepted to a school of this size, since not many alumni of my school district had gone to bigger schools. Eventually, I took a campus tour and absolutely fell in love with the history here. As soon as my financial aid packet came, I knew this was an affordable option for me and the decision was made.
How did you choose your majors?
I will be graduating with a bachelor of science in theatre and drama as an acting specialist, with an additional major in history.
Theater has always been my safe space. I was the girl who didn’t really fit into one clique, so getting to be someone else for a while was when I felt the most at home. In my senior year of high school, I was doing a lot of musical theater pieces for different events, and after one of them my mom looked at me and said, “You’ve gotta do this; it’s what you love.” I’d been dreaming of becoming an actress for years, and knowing that I was fortunate enough to have that parental support, which so many actors lose, solidified that this was what I wanted to do.
History was the major that kind of snuck up on me. I’ve always been a history buff. My love of history started when I’d look through the old family records with my mom growing up. Then my interest moved to local history, state history, national, and so on. You get the idea: the love was always there. But when I came to college, I originally planned to become an English teacher when I wanted to settle down after acting. It was through the wonderful course options for historians that this university holds that I realized I wanted to teach history. I’d also already completed many of the additional major courses upon declaring the major in January of 2022. It was all meant to be from the start, apparently.
What was your most meaningful experience at UW–Madison?
My most meaningful experience at UW isn’t just one thing, but a collection of all the times I’ve gotten to spend with my friends here. Whether it’s game days, nights out, movie nights, going to see a show or a concert, or road-tripping between home and here, the times spent together where we’re able to hang out and laugh really mean a lot. There’s not one experience from those that stands out above the rest. They’re all very meaningful to me.
"Theater has always been my safe space... History was the major that kind of snuck up on me."
What class or professor had the greatest impact on you, and why?
I’ve been fortunate enough to develop meaningful relationships with many of my instructors, so this is genuinely so hard to answer. Everyone has made such an impact on my experience here and helped me grow into who I am today. Out of all of them though, I think Rob Wagner has had the greatest impact on who I am today. Rob is the head of the Scene Studio for the Theatre Department, and though I am not a technical theater student, he has always made it clear that anytime I need anything, I can stop by. He is easily the most understanding and caring instructor that I’ve had in my time at UW and has really inspired the way I want to teach. Rob is someone with countless stories and lived experiences, he has given me so much advice, and it’s because of my time spent working in the shop that I know I’m ready for the next chapter of my life.
What do you know now that you wish you had known when you started at UW–Madison?
When I started, I wish I would’ve known that it is okay to take care of yourself and miss class or hangouts with friends if you need to. It’s okay to set boundaries with your coursework and social life to get the rest you need, whether it be mental or physical. The majority of the time, taking that rest is going to save you the time you’d lose by going to classes unfocused or ill, and it took until the spring semester of my junior year for me to figure that out. Rarely have I had an instructor who is upset that I’m staying home when I can’t focus or have a fever from burnout, and if your friend group really cares about you, they will want you to take that rest and get better.
What’s next for you? What are your plans for the future?
After graduation, I will work toward my teacher certification for secondary education in social studies. By the fall of 2024, I will be cleared to teach 4-12, and will hopefully have my own classroom! I plan to move back to the Northwest Wisconsin region to teach in a district there. There’s a lot that I’ve learned about history here that I never would’ve learned if I stayed there, and I want to bring those topics back. I’m excited to teach, and I know that social studies is the kind of topic where I can use both of my majors to their full potential. It’s going to entail a lot of storytelling, and nothing has prepared me for it better than my time as an acting specialist and a historian at UW.
You’re a UW–Madison expert now. What’s one thing every Badger should experience before they graduate?
This is a total cliche, but I am a die-hard Badger football fan. I love the other sports too — especially the energy brought at volleyball and basketball games — but nothing is like enduring whatever weather Mother Nature throws at you on a football Saturday in Madison. Sometimes we’re roasting alive, other times we’re soaked to the bone and freezing, but no matter the weather, game days will always be my favorite days. The Fifth Quarter is the perfect way to end it too: win or lose, we’re laughing and experiencing a community unlike any other.