The Cost of Success: Challenges in Seeking a Higher Education

A college education is often touted as the key to opportunity, although college isn’t always the best or only choice for a promising future. For those who do pursue a college degree, the journey can be filled with challenges. Our second event in the Wisconsin Academy’s Reaching Higher through Education series will focus on the challenges today’s aspiring students face in accessing college, and the financial and mental health costs many students face once they are on campus. With suicide currently the second-leading cause of death among college students, and with many struggling with anxiety and depression, one questions what are we asking of our young people. Furthermore, with 67% of Wisconsin students graduating with debt, and the average graduate carrying more than $30,000 in loans, how are these grads navigating a competitive job market and still making their monthly loan payments? While the college experience should inspire students to achieve their best, the Academy aims to explore how we can shift the educational climate to one that fosters both accessible success and healthy learning.

Join us at the Overture Center for the Arts as we explore these questions and more with a panel of experts from around the state, including Dr. Catherine Kodat, Provost and Dean of Faculty at Lawrence University, Dr. John Achter, Associate Dean of Students at UW-Stout, Keegan Kyle, investigative journalist for the Appleton Post Crescent, Vanessa Beckham, Director of Upward Bound at Beloit College, and UW-Milwaukee graduate student Nikita Werner.