Marsha Tweedy has been with Madison College for 18 years. Since June of 2020, she has been Dean in the School of Health Sciences. Recently, her role expanded to support the School of Nursing as Executive Dean. Previously, she was Associate Dean of the School of Business and Applied Arts, and before that, Program Director in the Dental Assistant Program. Marsha joined Madison College in 2005 as a Dental Assistant Full-time Faculty member.
In addition, Marsha was a Curriculum and Assessment Fellow in CETL, Adjunct Faculty at UW-Platteville, and Associate Lecturer in the Bachelor and Master’s program in Career and Technical Education at UW-Stout. She also has served as a State Ambassador for Career and Technical Education Programs.
In support of the vision and mission of the college, Marsha enjoys organizational development and relationship building. With her guidance, the School of Nursing and School of Health Sciences are evolving quickly to respond to the College’s vision of diversification and to shortages in the field, teaching students 21st century healthcare workforce skills.
For example, the School of Nursing trained over 200 enlisted soldiers in the Wisconsin National Guard to be Nurse Aids deployed across the state. The School of Health Sciences partnered with industry to train incumbent workers to be Medical Assistants while on the job. Together both schools continue to receive grants and improve the pipeline of healthcare workers into the field.
Madison College works hard to reach prospective healthcare programming students and find ways to financially support them as they move through and complete their coursework. These efforts include both building relationships in the community to identify opportunities for students, and making direct industry connections. Our graduates are the future of our healthcare system and Madison College takes the role of educating them to the highest level very seriously. Many of our programs have no wait, while others require pre-program coursework to become program ready. To learn more about the College’s 140+ transfer pathways and more than 180 training programs, go to https://madisoncollege.edu/?page=start.
Cyril Spangler met his sweetheart, Beverly, at a dance in Johnson Creek the week before he left for a station in Korea. When he returned, it seemed everyone had moved away or gotten married, and he decided the bachelor life was for him. One fateful night he ran into Bev at a bar, and by that Thanksgiving they had tied the knot. Together they raised two hard-working daughters, Denise and Donna, who both ended up studying at MATC in the 70s, pursuing health related fields at the downtown campus.
Cy and Bev supported their daughters during these years, encouraging them to spend their time studying instead of worrying about working. With this, both daughters thrived at school and throughout their careers. Denise continued on to earn both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
When Denise tragically passed in late 2021, Cy remembered the start both his girls got at Madison College. He thought about the hard-working students out there who he could support, like he did his daughters, and decided to establish a nursing scholarship.
Several years ago, one of Cy’s aunts passed away. Like many of her generation, she had worked hard to save money, and was very careful where she spent it. As a result, she left him Exxon-Mobil stock in her will, because she owned a gas station in Jefferson, WI. Cy was considering the options for donating in the midst of an overall rough stock market, but one in which gasoline stocks were strong. By gifting the stocks directly to the Madison College Foundation, Cy was able to make a significant gift while not having to pay capital gains taxes.
The Spangler’s of Watertown Endowed Nursing Scholarship will now provide scholarship support to nursing students who, like Denise and Donna, are excited about working in a field that is so critical in our community. The scholarship begins awarding this fall.
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The 2022 Annual Scholarship Breakfast was held on April 28, 2022. It was wonderful to watch reconnections as this was the first in-person breakfast since 2019. Every speaker shared some reflection on how the pandemic has fundamentally shifted the world in big and small ways, and the students particularly shared how it threatened to derail their educational journeys. However, because of the generosity of our donors, scholarships ensured these students were able to continue their studies. Thank you to everyone who helps us fulfil our vision to ensure no student is denied an education due to financial barriers.
Madison College has hosted a community conversation addressing access to childcare. This was in response to receiving a Workforce Innovation Grant up to $2.9 million that is designed to address both child care issues as well as create short term training that can quickly prepare workers for manufacturing jobs. For many in our community, access to care is a barrier to pursuing their education at Madison College.
“Having access to high-quality, affordable care is critical to building thriving communities and maintaining a strong economy,” Department of Children and Families Secretary Emilie Amundson said.
“Child care availability and workforce participation go hand in hand,” said Department of Administration Secretary-designee Kathy Blumenfeld.
In addition to leading these conversations, Madison College has a childcare facility on site and the Early Childhood Education associate degree program at Madison College prepares many in our community to work as a teacher-caregiver in early childhood settings.
Dzigbodi Akyea was a student advisor at Madison College for seventeen years, most recently in the liberal arts transfer program. She was a calming presence, and many people went to her for advice. She had the gift of making people laugh, and was greatly respected among her peers.
Unfortunately, Dzigbodi passed away quite suddenly last September 17, 2021 leaving those who worked with her in shock and grief.
She had been a member of the Black Women Affinity Group, which was founded in June of 2019 and meets twice a month. She helped the group set its mission and vision, and in meetings had often expressed the wish to hold an art show in the gallery for Black History Month.
Dzigbodi’s aspiration to hold this gallery show was realized by the Black Women Affinity Group in her honor. The opening reception was in February, in time for Black History Month, and the reception helped collect scholarship funds for Black liberal arts students from both individuals and corporations. In addition, the work of each participating artist was accompanied by a QR tag viewers could scan to see more images, promoting both sales and awareness for each of these talented individuals.
Among the guests at the gallery show reception were Dzigbodi’s two daughters, who surely gained an impression of the value of her work and the very real affection she inspired among her colleagues.
While the question of making the gallery show an annual event is still open, anyone wishing to support the scholarship program for Black liberal arts students can contact Madison College for guidance on how to proceed.
Student quote: “I am a young African American woman overcoming disparities everyday. I’ve known since a girl that I would be the first in my family not only to go to college but also obtain a degree and continue to build after that degree. All of my instructors have been extremely supportive of me and also held me to high expectations that allowed to push myself further than I thought I could go. I look forward to graduating from Madison College and going even further with my nursing career.”
To support this scholarship click here.
Ismael Sanchez Memorial Scholarship
This scholarship is being established in memory of Ismael Sanchez by a group of individuals who knew and loved him. Ismael was an advocate for those who had experienced domestic violence and sexual assault, helping them reclaim their journeys. He was an advocate for the Latinx community in his personal and professional life. In that spirit, this scholarship is being established to provide the assistance many need after experiencing domestic abuse, and the encouragement to believe in themselves and pursue education.
Madison College Expands Dental Hygiene Program
Additional graduates from the dental hygiene program ensure a strong dental workforce and a direct solution to the dental hygienist shortage in Wisconsin.
Ensuring a strong dental workforce is an important part of Delta Dental of Wisconsin Foundation’s (Foundation) mission. The Foundation is proud to partner with Madison College via a grant which will expand their dental hygiene program, adding an additional four students per year. The increase to eight students total between first and second year and additional clinic resources directly supports the growing demand by student interest and, more importantly, the industry.
The grant from the Foundation will fund an added dental operatory and equipment for student training, with the additional students starting in Fall 2022. The ultimate goal of the dental hygiene program at Madison College is to graduate highly skilled and passionate dental hygienists into the field. With an average program retention rate of 97%, this has a positive impact on the hygienist shortage in the state.
“We’ve been working on addressing the dental hygienist shortage for the past few years,” stated Ann Boson, executive director of the Delta Dental of Wisconsin Foundation. “A similar grant was awarded two years ago to the program at Chippewa Valley Technical College, but it is going to take more partnerships to fill the gap.”
The Foundation supports dental hygiene students with four scholarships awarded annually for the past 12 years. We are committed to ensuring a strong dental workforce in Wisconsin for years to come.
Scholarship Award Takes Substantial Stress Off Student’s Shoulders
Angela has “turned her family’s life upside down” to pursue her education as a Medical Laboratory Assistant. Her path hasn’t been easy, but she’s working hard and her family is cheering her on. Read her story in her own words below.
The first time I went to college was right out of high school. I had graduated with honors and wanted to go into the sciences. However. I became deeply involved in progressive student activism on campus and I ended up changing my major to Sociology. After a few years in school, my mom passed away unexpectedly. I struggled to keep up at school; I had 8 years of college under my belt and no degree to show for it. I dropped out and began to work in management full time in a grocery store.
Fast forward 15 or so years to early 2020, and I was still working in a grocery story. I had a 5 year old son, a 12 year old stepson, a partner and a house. My son is really into dinosaurs and animals and learning about the world again through his eyes rekindled my love of science. I realized that I was unfulfilled in my current work and needed a change. I took a test online to find out what career would best suit m, and Medical Laboratory Technician was near the top of the list. It sounds pretty great, and I found that MATC offers a two year course. I applied to go part time and was accepted.
Soon after starting classes in fall of 2020 I was approached by a medical laboratory and offered an entry level job which would give me hands-on experience in the field. I accepted, despite it being a substantial pay cut and not ideal hours.
I have turned my family’s life upside down with this pursuit. Of our worries, finances are chief among them. I left college the first time with considerable student debt and I have been very nervous about adding to that. Since starting at MATC, I have been fortunate enough to be awarded two Foundation Scholarships – in the Spring of 2021 the Zonta Madison Foundation Scholarship, and this fall I received the Emil J. Frautschi Family Endowed Scholarship. Being the recipient of these awards has taken substantial stress off my shoulders – I cannot express how grateful I am. It feels amazing that there is this community of support out there; folks who want to see people like me succeed and are willing to give so generously.
From Madison College Student to Associate Dean
Lucas White is an Associate Dean in Madison College’s School of Technologies and Trades. He first came to the College as a student in the Architectural Technology program in 2007, having studied at UW-Platteville for a year following his high school graduation in Lancaster, WI. After completing his Associate Degree in Architectural Technology, he went on to obtain a BS in architectural studies from UW-Milwaukee, but in reality he never left Madison College. Through a series of opportunities and other positions, and with the help of various mentors, Lucas found his path lay at the college itself, not in the world of architecture. While he continues to teach Computer Assisted Drafting (CAD) classes, over the last 15 years he’s played many other roles as well.
Having been a student, staffer, faculty, and administrator, Lucas is knowledgeable of many different viewpoints in the college environment. This makes him uniquely able to see where resources are needed and where lines of communication exist to work out problems that arise. He particularly enjoys hiring diverse and experienced faculty and staff who are able to meet our increasingly diverse students where they’re at, being role models as well as instructors.
Lucas sees serving the students as the primary objective of Madison College moving into the future. Whether first generation students, students from diverse backgrounds, credit or non-credit, all receive equal consideration in this model. It’s a tall order and the first step is always appreciating the individual student and the unique path each one is on — as unique as Lucas’s own path through the various levels that make Madison College what it is.
Lucas says building our community through equality in higher education, along with sharing opportunities for our young people, is what motivates him at Madison College. These objectives can inspire all of us as we consider how to use our resources to build a better community, helping more students to accomplish their own dreams and goals.
Paying it Forward by Leading Change
When we ask donors why they believe in our work, so many say a version of, “Someone invested in me, and so I’m paying it forward.” For Ousmane Kabré, that someone was a Mrs Hélène Ouedraogo, a woman in Burkina Faso, the west African country he calls home, who took a chance on him. She only knew Ousmane from his young entrepreneurial business delivering bread to her early every morning, but she respected his tenacity and agreed to sponsor him coming to Wisconsin to study.
His journey is inspirational. He earned his Liberal Arts Transfer/Accounting degree at Madison College in 2013, where he received several of our Foundation scholarships. He went on to earn a Bachelor of Business Administration and then a Masters degree in Accounting at UW-Madison. While at Madison College, he served as Student Senate President as WTCS State Ambassador. He went on to work at Ernst & Young, LLP successfully, before leaving to start his own nonprofit, Leading Change Africa. Leading Change Africa sponsors young African women and men to pursue their education and own entrepreneurial leanings. Right now there are 9 students at Madison College through his program. For Ousmane, this is the epitome of paying it forward.
Ousmane recently received the 2021 Distinguished Alumni award at Madison College, which you can read more about here.