Madison Reporter

First-year UW–Madison students are almost all enthusiastic about their first school year as Badgers, but for a wide variety of reasons.

We touched base with a number of new students at the W Project on Aug. 29 to ask them what they looked forward to in their Badger careers.

“I’m really excited to find my group of people and form different friend groups,” said Lilly Ackerman, a La Crosse native and incoming freshman. “I’m hoping to join some sort of volunteer group to get out into the community too!”

Meanwhile, Casper Cahalan, from Verona, Wisconsin, was counting down the days till the first football game at Camp Randall Stadium.

“I just bought the bibs, so I have to break those in,” said Cahalan. (The Badgers have since won their first two games, both at Camp Randall.)

Other students were anticipating the wide variety of courses offered on campus.

“I’m looking forward to some of my classes too. I’m taking astronomy which I’m excited for,” said Aidan Lepien, Cahalan’s roommate in Chadbourne Hall.

For some students, adjusting to college life came second to becoming accustomed to life in an entirely different country. For Eleanor Ding, a first-year international student from Singapore, it was just that.

“The transition’s been great,” said Ding. “Everyone’s been really nice. I’m really excited to learn about different cultures and expand my horizons!”

With an alumni base as vast as Wisconsin’s, it’s only natural that many incoming students won’t be the first in their family to become a Badger.

“I’ve lived here my whole life, so I know the city and the campus pretty well, especially since all of my older siblings came here,” said incoming freshman Maya Graupe.

Graupe, who grew up in Milwaukee, was determined to make her individual mark on campus.

“It just seemed like the right fit! I’m looking forward to exploring the campus and finding my own place here at school,” said Graupe.

UW-Madison’s offering of over 9,000 courses creates opportunities for each student to focus on their passions.

“I’m definitely looking forward to really studying something that I’m really interested in. I’m hoping to major in marketing, but I’m thinking about communications too,” said incoming freshman Chloe Shultz.

The newest UW–Madison students have plenty to look forward to. Despite all their different anticipations, the students all came together at the end of the night to form a massive W—a symbol of cohesiveness and sense of community that binds Badgers together.