Graduation at Edgewood College
Hands-on excellence

By Jonathan Gramling

    Sheena Russell has come a long ways in the last four years. During her high school years in Brown Deer, Russell pretty much went to school and came
home right after school. While some of her friends went on to attend UW-Madison, Russell stayed at home and went to Milwaukee Area Technical College.
Russell wanted to get away and experience life on her own, but she didn’t care for a large university like UW-Madison. Then she discovered Edgewood College
through her friends when she came to Madison to visit her friends and she found the best of both worlds. “It was a good fit for me because it was far enough
where I could experience a new city, a new type of culture and a different vibe and still be close enough to see my family and get support,” Russell said during
a phone interview with The Capital City Hues. “Edgewood was small enough where I could keep my focus on school and be able to have relationships with
faculty and staff, yet I had a large university six blocks away as far as the social scene goes.”
    While she was at Edgewood, Russell began to develop what she referred to as her “natural born” leadership traits. “I was the treasurer for the Black Student
Union for two years,” Russell recalled. “I was the diversity representative for the student government association. I worked on the Dean of Students Advisory
Council. And I was a resident assistant in a resident hall on campus for a year. The leadership experience helped me a lot. It kept me grounded because a lot
of people knew me. It kept me on task as far as my school work and social life are concerned. And it helped me understand the types of skills that you need in
order to become a leader.”
    As a major in educational studies, Russell did practicums in two Madison elementary schools. She especially enjoyed the one at Leopold. “That was my
most rewarding placement. The teacher and I meshed very well. I got to know her on a personal level. We had the same teaching philosophy. We just had the
same type of view of the students and learning.”
    During the past year, Russell took the hands-on learning experience to the next level. While she took a Thursday evening class at Edgewood and an
algebra class in Milwaukee, Russell worked on an internship at the Center for Teaching Entrepreneurship in Milwaukee where she set planned Camp GOALS,
the center’s summer program. “I got a lot of experience getting speakers, selecting topics and organizing meaningful field trips that pertain to the subject of
the day,” Russell said. “I did get a lot of experience with a lot of other community members and I learned how to put together an actual program.”
    The internship has also shaped Russell’s goals for the future. “Through the process of switching myself from school to community-based, I actually believe I
want to start my own consulting firm regarding ESL students and their families. I want to become a liaison between the school and the family. One of my
minors was ESL and my second minor was ethnic studies. I found that a lot of information is lost between the schools and the families due to a lack of
communication from either a language barrier, parents don’t attend meetings or other factors. It’s no one’s fault per se. It’s just that when students come from a
different country to this country, there are a lot of things that are different. The culture and language are different. There is a lack of communication and a lot
of information is lost. A year ago after discovering that, I came to the conclusion that I would like to start my own consulting business being a liaison between
the schools and the community and getting them to work together more effectively. It is after all about the students.”
    Russell’s dreams for the future may not have been possible if she hadn’t also expanded her understanding of the world while she was at Edgewood.
“Edgewood taught me to see things from a different point of view,” Russell said. “A lot of times, you’re ‘blinded’ and it’s really hard to see things from a different
perspective. As I was learning, there were a lot of things politically that were going on regarding the gay marriage ban and the 2004 presidential race. A lot of
things were going on while I was at Edgewood that made me kind of think of things from the other perspective. I was really fortunate to have learned that at an
early age.”
    Russell is grateful to her parents who have always been there to support her. Her father, a GE Medical Systems engineer, taught her how to budget her hard-
earned money wisely for Russell worked her way through college. And her mother, a Cardinal Stritch College professor, taught her how to budget her time.
And she is grateful to Edgewood College for helping her blossom into a social entrepreneur ready to make her mark on the world.
Sheena Russell plans to start her own
education consulting business in the
Milwaukee area.