Graduation at Madison Area Technical College
In search of a better life
I didn’t know how I was going to do it. I just knew I wanted to do it.”
    Eventually, Fish decided to get a post-secondary education. He decided to go to MATC, which he had been introduced to a decade or more before. “I was
an adult continuing my education,” Fish said. “MATC was the perfect place for me to do that. It helped me transition, which was exactly what I needed because
I was a first generation college student. I didn’t know how I was going to do it. I didn’t know where to go for help. MATC offered support.”
    At first, Fish was determined to work and go to school at the same time. Again Fish thought things could be better. “I didn’t want to quit working,” Fish said. “I
wanted to still make money. So I went part-time at first. Later on, it seemed like it was going to take me forever to graduate at that pace. So my family and I
decided that if I was going to go to school and get it done, I had to quit working and go full time. Another option opened up to me at that point, which I was
totally unaware of. It was the work-study part of financial aide. So it allowed me to continue working while I continued my education. It all worked out very well
for me here. MATC has really supported me in every way.”
    Fish enrolled in the liberal arts transfer program at MATC. He is graduating from the two year program — the equivalent of freshman and sophomore years in
college — and is graduating with a certificate in ethnic studies and a 3.6 grade point average. And Fish applied to and was accepted into the University of
Wisconsin-Madison. He will be pursuing a family and consumer education major with the community leadership option.
    “I don’t think I will have any difficulty transitioning to the UW,” Fish said. “MATC really helped me in that way. It helped me transition and now I am really
enjoying college life. It’s a lot different than what I was used to. Education has really helped me out in so many ways.”
    Fish is fortunate he is a member of the Muscogee Nation for the tribe values education. “I’ve never had to take out a student loan or anything,” Fish said. “My
tribe really supports education. They pay for everything and they ease the burden off my family and me.”
    While he is still at least two years away from an undergraduate degree, Fish is already planning his next steps. “I want to go all the way to the Ph.D. level,”
Fish proclaimed. “I’m not sure what I will study yet. I’m also thinking about getting a law degree and working in tribal law. But I’m not sure. My father works for the
Osage Nation still. He works for the Bureau of Indian Affairs for the Osage Nation.”
    While he is constantly striving to improve the circumstances for him and his family, on May 17, Fish was content to celebrate. He was given the honor of
being the graduation speaker. And his folks came from Oklahoma to see Fish become the first in his family to receive a college degree. And that may be the
greatest honor of all.
Tim Fish (l-r), his son Timothy Byington-Fish, his
mother-in-law Diana Toball and his wife Rachel Byington
By Jonathan Gramling

    As Tim Fish was growing up as a member of the Muscogee Nation in Oklahoma, he didn’t like
the prospects that life was presenting to him. No one in his family had ever graduated from
college and he didn’t care to work on an oil rig in the Oklahoma oil fields, a very dangerous
profession. He knew there had to be something better in life.
    Between his junior and senior years of high school, Fish came to Madison to stay with his sister
for the summer. “Her husband owned a small business and they gave me a summer job,” Fish
recalled in an interview with The Capital City Hues. “I came up and checked out the new scenery.
It was totally different from what I was used to and different from reservation life. I was enthralled
by everything. There was so much going on. My sister was going to MATC. They had a pow wow
here at the time, back in the early 1990s. The pow wow was my introduction to MATC.”
    At first, Fish was content to work the manual labor work installing floors and carpeting. “I did
what I could without a high school diploma, which wasn’t much,” Fish emphasized.
In January 1991, Fish attained his High School Equivalency Diploma (HSED) and continued
working. He married Rachel Byington and they had a son Timothy. Fish wasn’t satisfied with what
he was doing. “Initially, my intention was to get my GED, but I ended up getting my HSED,” Fish
said. “At that point, I started to figure out how important education is and how it can open doors
for you. That’s when I decided to go to school and I wanted to further my education. At that point,