Graduation at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison
Home grown excellence

By Jonathan Gramling

Part 1 of 2

    It was a defining moment in her life. And perhaps it was a symbolic moment as well when Roslynn Pedracine, a 2008 UW-Madison graduate and
PEOPLE Program Scholar, saw the level of devastation in New Orleans that prepared her for the challenges that laid ahead for her as well.
Back during spring break in 2006, Pedracine and her friend Tiffany headed to New Orleans with a group of UW students to volunteer in helping New Orleans
residents get back on their feet. She was appalled at the devastation she witnessed and by the stories that she heard. At first, they were acting like spoiled
college students.
    “When we first got there, we were sleeping outside in these tents,” Pedracine related as we sat in the Paul Bunyan Room of the Memorial Union. “We
were really selfish and were saying we didn’t want to stay there and do this. It was very unfortunate when we got there because we had a bad attitude. We
wanted to help, but we didn’t want to stay outside. By the first day of us helping people, our outlook completely changed. We realized we could sleep
outside because the people in New Orleans didn’t have a home. They didn’t have a family. They didn’t have anything.”
     Over the course of the next week, they pitched in to help and the experience changed their lives. “We saw what it was like and it was devastating,”
Pedracine said. “And I know even now, three years later, it still hasn’t gotten much better. We followed the kids who were still living there and playing with
them. When we saw it, it looked like ‘The Terminator’ when they went into the future. It was heartbreaking.”
    “One guy told the story about his grandfather was really old and in a wheelchair,” Pedracine continued. “As the water rose, he was able to pull himself up
through the attic and out a window. He had to sit on top of his roof during August. It was really hot. He was on top of his roof for a number of days watching
helicopters fly over him. The guy we were talking to was floating in the water for a while. When someone finally pulled him out, the lower half of his body
was covered in leaches. It was disgusting. It’s not as if he didn’t want to leave. He would see them flying over and the boats pass and people would tell him
they couldn’t help. There was absolutely no reason for it. It was a terrible situation for everyone, but it was clear that it was harder than it should have been.”
    Pedracine had a long time to think on the long bus trip back to Madison. And while she had gone to New Orleans as a pre-law student, she came back
with a commitment to work on issues pertaining to community development and helping people improve their lives. “I needed to be working in something
having a direct impact,” Pedracine emphasized. “I don’t want to sit in an office and then dictate and see things happen. I want to be in the position where I
really feel that I’m touching people’s lives; I’m reaching out to people and that at the end of the day, I can look at what I’ve done and know I had a positive
impact. I want to feel I invoke change in situations.”
    “It can also be so overwhelming where you feel ‘I have to do school,’” Pedracine said. “’I have to pay my bills. I have to do it all.’ In college, you just
have to say ‘Deal with it’ because you’re not in high school anymore. People aren’t going to baby you. I’ve learned to know that through it all, I know I’m
capable of doing whatever I set my mind to. And no matter how hard it gets, just know that time goes on and you’re going to get it done and be successful. I
used to get really down on myself. I used to ask myself how I was ever going to get it all done. I didn’t feel that anyone was supporting me. I felt no one
understood how hard it truly was for me.”
    Pedracine’s mom was going through some difficulties, her grandfather died and Pedracine had to take care of all of her own financial responsibilities. It
all seemed impossible. And then, perhaps Pedracine thought about the people in New Orleans and how they were still surviving in spite of the incredible
challenges that they faced. Or perhaps she thought of the people whom she had known growing up in South Madison who had succeeded in spite of the
odds. Pedracine redoubled her efforts.
    “I had faith in myself,” Pedracine said. “I was going to get through it. I would look back on it and I would realize that I didn’t know how I got through it, but
I did. That’s the biggest lesson I’ve learned. Stay focused and just know it’s going to happen. My mom always told me that ‘If it isn’t so, say it’s so and it will
be so.’ I just know that I’m going to get through it. And I’m strong enough and I’ve prepared myself for it. I might not see the end of the tunnel yet, I’m going
to get there. So I just have to have faith at all times. I think that is what has gotten me through it. I’ve learned so much in college, but I’ve also grown by
leaps and bounds in four short years.”
    And now that she has overcome the hurdles, someone else from South Madison can now look at her and say “I can do it too.” “I grew up on the south side
of Madison,” Pedracine said. “People know who I am. I really feel proud to be an example for other people to follow. I came to college to be successful. But
I didn’t come to college and then say ‘Oh, I don’t know y’all no more.’ It makes me feel proud to have people come to me and tell me congratulations and
that their niece or little sister wants to go to college and be like me. Or they want to be an AKA too. I just really feel proud to be that example for other kids
because Madison is a great city, but we have our flaws. It’s good to know that doing what I am doing is contributing and that I am a positive example to
someone.”
    Next Issue: The UW experience
Roslynn Pedracine (left), a PEOPLE Program Scholar
who is graduating from the University of
Wisconsin-Madison, celebrates (above) with family and
friends at Heifitz Park in South Madison.