Graduation at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison
Home grown excellence


By Jonathan Gramling

Page 2 of 2

    She could almost be the poster woman for the Keep Hope Alive movement. Roslynn Pedracine, a 2008 UW-Madison graduate and PEOPLE Program
Scholar, grew up on Madison’s south side, a community rich in cultural diversity and community, but poor when it comes to economic means. And many
students from South Madison are looked at as “at-risk” academic failures before they even get started.
    While Pedracine doesn’t have money, she does have a mother who believed in her and kept her on the straight and narrow and family who gave her a
lot of support. She also had community support to become the first from her family to straight through high school and college. A lot of that support came
from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
    When she was in eighth grade, Pedracine got involved in the Information Technology Academy (ITA), an affiliate of the UW PEOPLE Program. It made
the difference. “I don’t think I would even be in college without ITA,” Pedracine said in the Paul Bunyan Room of the Memorial Union. “We learned
everything from how to create websites to how to put together computers to how to do media production. I wanted to go to college, but I would have
wondered how I was going to get there and how I was going to pay for it. Having the five-year scholarship was more of a driving force to make sure I did what
I had to do. ITA made college seem like a more realistic option.”
    However, while the UW paid for Pedracine’s tuition, Pedracine still had to come up with her book and living expense money on her own. Pedracine
worked 2-3 part-time jobs at a time while attending the UW full-time. And remarkably, Pedracine earned her degree in four years, graduated with a 3.0 GPA
and only borrowed $4,500 during her undergraduate years.
    There were many things for Pedracine to deal with in addition to having an exhausting workload. Her grandfather died while she was in college and her
mom experienced some difficulties that made Pedracine work even harder to help out.
    One of the difficult things Pedracine had to deal with was being an African American on a predominantly Euro-American campus. “A lot of students of
color come here and feel they get here, they are dropped off and left in the middle of things and they have to make it on their own,” Pedracine said. “At
times, it can be really discouraging being here. You feel like you don’t have a community. You feel like the community that is here isn’t as supportive as it
should be. You feel lost when you’re in a class of 500 people and you are the only person of color. Or it might be you, an Asian student and a Latino
student and you are expected to be the representatives for that huge class. It can get really discouraging, but there are people here who really want to see
you succeed and want to be there to help.”
    During her college stay, Pedracine blossomed from a woman who had limited exposure in life to one who felt comfortable in the global community and
is ready to take life head on. Part of that confidence was fostered through her travels to Washington, D.C. for the Million More March, Selma, Alabama for
the 40th anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery March, St. Louis for a conference and New Orleans to help out in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
    It was also fostered by her exposure to a diverse campus life. “Be open-minded to meet new people,” Pedracine would advise new students. “I’ve gone to
so many places being at UW. I’ve met so many people. Had I been secluded, I would have never even thought to talk to those people. UW has this huge
international student base. There are so many opportunities and people who are here to help you. Don’t get pigeon-holed into ‘I’m going to school. I’m here
by myself.’ Some people come here and don’t realize everything that UW has to offer. No matter where you go, it’s going to have its bad side and its good
side. Don’t get caught up in putting your shades on and ignoring all of the sunshine that surrounds you.”
    Pedracine graduated with a double major in legal studies and African American studies. She is moving to Minneapolis where she plans to earn a
graduate degree in social policy and community development at the University of Minnesota and work at the Urban League there. While she is ready to take
this next big step in her life, Pedracine’s family isn’t.
    “They think I’m going for the summer again and then I’ll be back in the fall,” Pedracine said. “My aunt keeps e-mailing me job postings in Madison. I tell
them I’m not going to stay in Madison. It will be good to get away. I really like the city, but it will be good to go somewhere else and try something new.
Maybe one day I’ll come back.”
    Hopefully Pedracine will come back because Madison needs its “home grown” talent to help it take its game to the next level.
Roslynn Pedracine is
now working for the
Urban League in
Minneapolis - St. Paul.