UW announces Wisconsin Idea student fellowships

Eleven students at the University of Wisconsin–Madison are recipients of 2003-2004 Wisconsin Idea Undergraduate Fellowships. The fellowships provide students with the opportunity to create outreach projects with community organizations. Fellowships are selected by a committee of faculty, students, staff and community members, and supported by grants from the Evjue Foundation and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

Recipients for 2003-2004 include the following students, faculty advisers and community organizations:

Community Connections for Inmates
Bryn Andersen; Richard Barrows, professor of agricultural and applied economics; ParentShare.
This project is designed to create a strong, sustainable collaboration among the community of Oregon, local service organizations and the Oakhill Correctional Institution. It aims to provide inmates with programs and resources addressing literacy, parenting skills, family reconciliation and connections. The student will write an analytical paper that will assess the success of the program and the possibility of replication in other communities.

Improving Urban Water Resources
Eric Booth; Kenneth Potter, professor of civil and environmental engineering; Friends of Lake Wingra/Friends of Pheasant Branch.
This project will develop and apply a stormwater audit to approximately 50 sites to gauge how residential properties handle stormwater runoff. It will then offer ways to improve the management of this runoff through modest practices such as rerouting downspouts or the creation of a rain garden. In addition, community volunteers will be trained to administer stormwater audit procedures.

Putting Democracy to Work
Lauren Bresnahan; Marlys Macken, associate professor of linguistics; United Refugee Services of Wisconsin.
Through interviews with figures in politics and academics, and Southeast Asian community leaders in Wisconsin, Minnesota and California, as well as library research, the student will development plans for a political action committee that will express economic, political and social needs.

Helping Teen Mothers
Angela Cunningham; Sherrill Sellers, assistant professor of social work; East Madison Community Center.
An eight-week support and education group called HOPE will introduce and reinforce the importance of obtaining a post-secondary education to teen mothers in high school. The program will include tours of local college campuses, guest speakers on financial aid and healthy relationships, and tips on study skills, time management and dealing with problem situations. The participants will be assessed on measures of self-efficacy, knowledge of resources, and future educational plans at the beginning and end of the program.

Nutritional Health of Homebound Elderly
Vicktoria Danilova; Linda Baumann, professor of Nursing; Meals on Wheels.
To enhance the nutritional health and quality of life of the homebound elderly population of Dane County, this project will develop educational materials about maintaining a balanced diet, survey Meals on Wheels recipients about their nutritional concerns and develop new strategies to improve aspects of elderly lives that are related to food.

Improving Literacy for Underserved Children
Julia Frye; Sharon Younkin, community service-learning coordinator, Family Medicine; Wingra Family Medicine Clinic.
To support children’s language and literacy development, Reach Out and Read trains physicians to talk to parents about reading aloud to their children, provides free books at well-child visits and places volunteer readers at clinics. This project will implement Reach Out and Read at two nonprofit medical clinics in south and east Madison by coordinating book donations, volunteer training and program evaluation.

Improving Health Care for the Homeless
Jacqueline Gerhart; Murray Katcher, professor of pediatrics; The Salvation Army.
This project will improve and restore programs associated with the MEDIC Clinic, which provides health care to homeless people in Madison. Transportation services and a guest speaker program will be organized, childcare for the clinic will be improved and past patient medical records will be analyzed to determine patterns in care provided by the clinic.

Building Confidence Through Music
Anne Jaspers; Sandra Magaña, assistant professor of social work; Catholic Charities.
The goal of this project, called Jóvenes “Crescendo” Por Música (Youth Growing Through Music), will be a support group that will use music to build the confidence and self-esteem of area Latino immigrant children. Children in the group will keep journals and participate in group music lessons, as well as performances for the larger community.

Rural Education About HIV/AIDS
Amy Luther; Raymond Kessel, professor of genetics; Midwest AIDS Education and Training Center.
CARE will focus on research and education of rural communities and health care professionals regarding the importance of HIV antibody testing. Educational strategies will be developed using information from surveys of health care workers and community leaders in rural areas of Wisconsin.

Urban Agriculture
Ryah Nabielski; Jonathan Foley, assistant professor of environmental studies; Friends of Troy Gardens.
This project will focus on bringing fresh, organic produce to north Madison residents through the creation of a farm stand on Troy Drive, as well as the development of a coupon program to provide low-income families ready access to this produce.

Depression Help for Hmong People
Youa Xiong, Amanda Moua,; Jeanine Mount, associate professor of pharmacy; United Refugee Services of Wisconsin.
Few Hmong people seek help for depression because it is often not recognized or understood in their culture. This project will research and produce videos – one in Hmong, the other in English – to explain the signs and treatment of depression. The videos will be distributed to organizations and libraries across Wisconsin and to national Hmong service organizations.