Leaders on Wheels
The Wisconsin Experience Bus Trip took a stop in Green Bay for the student leaders to tour Lambeau Field. Photos courtesy of Heidi Lang.
Five days, 28 students, one bus: This is the Wisconsin Experience Bus Trip (WEBT). Pulling together a diverse group of student leaders on campus, the five-day trip across the state brought the Wisconsin Idea to life by allowing students to reach out beyond the classroom, participate in various volunteer activities and visit several communities.
The trip came as a result of a collaboration between the Wisconsin Union Directorate Alternative Breaks program and other organizations such as the Division of Student Life, the Chancellor’s Office and the Wisconsin Alumni Association. What started as an idea eventually drove across the state as a leadership-focused learning opportunity through community service.
Stopping at several communities, including La Crosse, Neenah, Boulder Junction, Green Bay and Kewaunee, the student leaders—many of whom had never met—quickly bonded over the opportunity to extend the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s tradition of public service during the trip. Student participant and WUD Performing Arts Committee Director Jordan Foster described their first stop to visit the Mississippi River Conservancy, where the students were given the mission of de-weeding a portion of forestland.
“It was so wonderful to see the group come together in such a short amount of time to accomplish such a daunting task,” Jordan said. “And we did it without the barriers created by stereotypes, judgmental attitudes or frustration. “
Other highlights of the trip included volunteering at the Shawano School District, touring Lambeau Field and visiting Pagel’s Ponderosa Dairy, to name a few.
The group met a few bovine buddies while visiting Pagel’s Ponderosa Dairy.
WUD Vice President for Public Relations Jenny Knoeppel especially enjoyed the group’s visit to the Lac du Flambeau American Indian Reservation, where the students sat in on a tribal council meeting. “It showed all of us how a small group of people can make such a huge difference in the community,” Jenny said. “This experience can translate into campus community and our positions as student leaders.”
The hands-on approach of Alt Breaks meshed well with the Wisconsin Idea’s focus on outreach and service. “The Alt Breaks’ philosophy definitely played a role throughout the WEBT in making sure that learning and leadership development—the overarching goals of the experience—happened in unconventional and hands-on ways, which is what Alt Breaks does best,” said Alt Breaks Committee member Emily Paulson, who planned much of the WEBT.
Former Alt Breaks Director Jake Heyka and former Assistant Director of Alt Breaks Kim Ebner also assisted in organizing the trip and placing the focus on leaders and the lessons only available outside of the classroom.
“You can do all the ice breakers in the world,” Jake said. “But if you’re down in Mississippi River Valley cutting brush with a group of people you just met, and learn your university is researching this same invasive species, you come back to campus making these connections and sharing what you’ve learned.”
“One of the main goals was to make the Union the unifying body between the different communities the students interacted with,” Kim said. “Connecting WUD and the Union, along with the rest of the campus, to the Wisconsin Idea was the main goal of this trip. We wanted to remind our student leaders that they are a part something much bigger than the University of Wisconsin; they are all a part of this wonderful state that has so much to offer!”
The students show their Badger pride during their visit to the Mississippi Valley Conservancy.
Where should the students visit next year? Share in the comments section below!
