Students write guide for students

Amid the blizzard of guidebooks for college students written by people who are not college students, a new handbook stands out – “Choose Your Own Adventure: A Guide to UW–Madison For Students, By Students.”

The 180-page guidebook and its electronic counterpart were written, edited and designed by a group of mostly first- and second-year students at UW–Madison. Copies of the hard-copy version are free for students.

The authors’ goal was to offer tips to undergraduates who are eager to get the best possible education at UW–Madison. The humor-laced guide defines education broadly and includes sections on “Getting to Know Professors as People,” “Life in Residential Colleges and Residential Learning Communities,” “Movies and Theater” and “How to Use the Buses.”

The handbook is the product of the Pathways to Excellence Project and aided by a grant from Madison’s Evjue Foundation. Pathways to Excellence is designed to engage and empower undergraduates to get involved in the heart of the educational enterprise at UW–Madison.

“This handbook is a remarkable example of what can happen when students are given the opportunity to play a genuine leadership role in working to change the undergraduate culture at UW–Madison,” says William Cronon, professor of history and faculty director of Pathways to Excellence. “Faculty and staff, not just students, can benefit from reading it.”

For more information on “Choose Your Own Adventure,” contact Cronon at (608) 265-6023 or crononw@macc.wisc.edu.