Bucky’s Classroom star: Helping 7th graders across the state prepare for college
Stephanie Kressin of UW–Madison’s Bucky’s Classroom team meets with 7th-grade students at Maplewood Middle School in Menasha, WI on May 30, 2024. Photo: Bryce Richter
In her five years working for University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Bucky’s Classroom program, Stephanie Kressin has visited 256 classrooms in more than 100 schools across Wisconsin, reaching a total of 6,863 students.
It’s all in the interest of getting students to start thinking about college, especially those who otherwise may not have, and leading them down a path to higher education.
“At the end of the day we are planting a seed that one day will grow,” says Kressin, who will be leaving the program this summer to become a school psychologist. “Maybe it will grow on the path of college or maybe it will grow into a career or maybe a more community-based role.”
Bucky’s Classroom is a statewide outreach program housed under UW Connects programming in State Relations and Statewide Outreach. UW students serve as ambassadors who visit seventh-grade classrooms to share their college experiences and introduce the students to the vocabulary of college.
“Stephanie has brought an unwavering dedication, thoughtfulness and a clear love for working with students to everything she does in her role with Bucky’s Classroom,” says Fran Puleo Moyer, associate director of outreach programs. “It’s been a joy to see her evolve into a confident and capable administrator who leads from the heart. Her impact on the program will be felt for years to come.”
Kressin, a master’s student in the School of Education studying school psychology, has been with the program for five years, since her sophomore year. She served as an ambassador and then most recently as a Bucky’s Classroom Coordinator who oversees ambassadors going into classrooms and connects with the schools they are going to visit.
She’s mentored and trained more than 100 Bucky’s Classroom Ambassadors. She also adapted the Bucky’s Classroom lesson for a virtual setting and updated it to make it more engaging and effective.
“The visit is split up into three main sections: debunking myths about college, college vocabulary and career exploration,” Kressin said. “This is the first time that we are really talking about college and careers, to get them familiar and excited with that and also open their eyes to what their paths can be in the future.”
Many students don’t have conversations about college until they are in high school, but Bucky’s Classroom ambassadors try to get them thinking about it earlier, so they can work toward that goal. And teachers say it appears to work.
“I wish I had access to know where all these seeds have gone but I know from talking to teachers and seeing the students at the end of the lesson, we know we are making a difference,” Kressin says.
Kressin hands out branded t-shirts to students from Edison Middle School in Brown County in Union South while participating in a 7th grade campus tour as part of Bucky’s Classroom. Photo: Taylor Wolfram
Kressin says she feels like she’s grown up with Bucky’s Classroom, in many ways.
“Starting as a sophomore, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life, and Bucky’s Classroom helped me develop career and college readiness,” she says. “Bucky’s classroom has really changed my life in so many ways: I have met so many wonderful people, learned so much about myself and really homed in on what I love doing, which is connecting with students and being able to build relationships over time.”