Excellence into Alumnihood

First cohort of four-year scholarship recipients graduate from School of Education

By Lauren Kainrath

This May, the first group of students to receive scholarship funding from the School of Education for all four years of their undergraduate education graduated from UW–Madison. Recipients of the Dean’s Excellence Scholarships say the support made their Badger dreams — and all that’s to come after graduation — possible.

In the spring of 2022, the School of Education initiated the Dean’s Excellence Scholarship program. The program launched as part of Impact 2030, a donor-funded campaign with a pillar dedicated to significantly strengthening student scholarships. The scholarship program’s mission has remained the same throughout its awarding years: to provide consistent, four-year financial support to talented School of Education undergraduate students with demonstrated financial need. The pilot year awarded scholarships to 39 students. In 2025, 144 students received support.

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Fei Smith, a member of the first cohort of scholarship recipients, says receiving four years of support was instrumental to her college decision and success. “Knowing I had support all four years made me feel so much more secure,” she says. “While a lump-sum scholarship freshman year can help get you started, it can be hard to finance the remaining years. Annual scholarships make budgeting and routines so much easier. It allowed me to focus on studies and experiences rather than working constantly to make ends meet.”

A special education and environmental studies major, Smith made the most of those studies and experiences. She studied abroad, started a campus organization dedicated to diverse leadership in education, and completed four years on the Dean’s List. She says her practicum teaching experiences at West High School and Shorewood Hills Elementary School were highlights of her time at UW–Madison.

“Make the most of your experience and make positive connections,” she advises younger students. “My experience at West gave me so much great hands-on experience with classroom management, lesson planning, assessment administration, and collaboration. And I never thought I’d love working with elementary students as much as I did at Shorewood Hills – I learned so much about creating accessible curriculum and building relationships with students and colleagues.”

Ximena Huerta, a kinesiology major and another member of the first cohort of scholarship recipients, says the support made something she thought was impossible an option for her — and helped her find a connected, supportive community.

“I grew up low-income and never thought Madison was going to be realistic,” she says. “Donors really made all of this a reality for me and for so many other students too. With this scholarship, I’ve been able to find a community of people who have gone through the same experiences I have, which has completely shifted my perspective.”

While on campus, Huerta participated in an independent study that focused on community outreach to promote physical activity in adolescents, studied abroad in Portugal, and maintained a perfect grade point average. She also worked as a house fellow and peer mentor in Chadbourne Residential College for the Pathway Learning Community, serving individuals who are on financial aid.

“I hope donors know that their financial support isn’t just financial, it’s so much more,” Huerta says.

After graduation, Huerta plans to stay in Madison. She has been accepted into the School of Education’s Doctor of Occupational Therapy Program.

“Being in the OTD program at UW-Madison has been my goal since middle school, it is surreal that this has become my reality,” she says.

Scholarship programs like Dean’s Excellence support a brighter future by investing in young people, providing more than financial support by helping them establish connections and reach their full potential in academic and community spaces. The School hopes to continue offering these meaningful four-year awards to deserving students for years to come.