Hayden Kassens has been coming to UW-Milwaukee since middle school, when he would accompany his mom to classes while she was pursuing a teaching degree. But it wasn't until taking several campus tours that Kassens, a sophomore at Carmen High School Southeast, really got a sense of the UWM experience. "It was really cool," he said. "Seeing all the different opportunities and seeing the college community was very intriguing." (UWM Photo/Elora Hennessey)
Brooklyn Bays Lawrence, a senior at Riverside University High School, is enrolled in English 101 at UWM through the university's Office of Dual Enrollment. In October, she came to campus for an interactive workshop on rhetoric, language and culture — she even got to write about how to survive a zombie apocalypse. "It added to my confidence," Lawrence said. "It was fun. And it was nice meeting other people because there were other schools there." (UWM Photo/Elora Hennessey)
Veronica Morelos, a junior at Carmen High School Southeast, came to UWM as part of a campus tour. "I really enjoyed it," she said. "I got to see a lot of classrooms and buildings that helped me understand what college is like. It gave me a sense that people are going to support you and give you guidance." (UWM Photo/Elora Hennessey)
Roger Vang remembers when he came to UWM in fifth grade, when he built bridges with marshmallows and toothpicks as part of a program for UWM's College of Engineering & Applied Science. Now, the Riverside University High School senior is enrolled in English 102 through UWM's Office of Dual Enrollment. "It's teaching me what college is going to be like," he said. "The teacher will be there, but it's up to you now. Whatever you want, it's up to you to get it." (UWM Photo/Elora Hennessey)
Aleyka Hernandez is a sophomore at Carmen High School Southeast. She came to UWM in December 2024 as part of a joint event for Carmen Northwest, South and Southeast — and hopes to get involved in programs like the UWM Writing Project in the future. "I want to do anything involving writing," Hernandez said. "I love writing." (UWM Photo/Elora Hennessey)
Milleeon Hang, a freshman at Hmong American Peace Academy, stayed overnight in UWM's residence halls during the summer as part of the Mini-Courses Panther Prep Summer Camp. "We got to sleep in the dorms for four days," she said. "And tour campus and eat college food. I remember the dorm spaces were really nice." (UWM Photo/Elora Hennessey)
It’s never too early to get a taste of college life. Whether it’s going on a campus tour, taking a college-level course or participating in a summer camp, these Milwaukee-area high school students are doing exactly that through UW-Milwaukee’s youth programs.
On Jan. 13, they came to the Lubar Entrepreneurship Center to learn more about ROAR Ready — a learning pathway meant to help K-12 students and their families discover new interests, explore future careers and prepare for college — and reflect on their experiences with UWM.
