UWM OUTREACH M3 EXPANDS HIGH SCHOOL PROGRAM
The Westlawn Partnership´s 10th anniversary Get Wheelin´ event.
UWM HEALTH PARTNERSHIP CYCLES THROUGH A DECADE Outdoor air pollution and widespread asthma is a double threat to a community’s health. That’s why the Get Wheelin’ in Westlawn event in Milwaukee’s largest affordable housing complex is so important. The annual event offers residents free bicycle tuneups and family bike rides over two weekends each summer. Now in its 10th year, Get Wheelin’ was launched and organized by the Westlawn Partnership for a Healthier Environment, which was established by the UWM College of Nursing with funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The Westlawn Partnership gathers community stakeholders to identify and address environmental health risks in the neighborhood. “When we began,” says Anne Dressel, UWM assistant professor of nursing, “outdoor air pollution was one of the top five areas of concern, so the bike tuneups are a way to get people cycling instead of driving while also
promoting a healthy activity.” Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes spoke at the event on June 26 to mark the 10th anniversary. “I just want to congratulate and thank you for all you’re doing to make sure we keep people active," Barnes said. “This is not just how we build community, this is how we build families to help make these communities last even longer.” Because the neighborhood has no bike shops, students from UWM’s Bicycle and Motorcycle Engineering Research Laboratory partner with Dream Bikes, a Milwaukee nonprofit in Halyard Park, to make the bike repairs. Dressel says the volunteers have refurbished more than 1,000 bikes for free over the past decade. “Bikes have been very therapeutic for me,” says Phillip Van Asten, a UWM engineering senior who volunteered at this year’s event. “Anything I can do to help others get that experience is something I want to do.” – Laura L. Otto
A program that gives Milwaukee Public Schools high school seniors a taste of college life is thriving as students and teachers return to the classroom this fall. The M3 College Connections-General Pathway program expects to enroll about 120 students for the 2021-22 school year, up from 94 students in 2020-21. It’s also nearly four times the size of the inaugural class in 2018-19. The General Pathway program is one of many ways that UWM collaborates with MPS and Milwaukee Area Technical College through the M3 (pronounced M-Cubed) partnership. Students in this program take classes at UWM and MATC during their senior year in MPS. Members of the Class of 2021 earned up to 21 transferable college credits in courses such as math, English and science. The General Pathway program is the most comprehensive of the dual enrollment options offered by M3. Students also save money by getting a head start on their higher education degree while finishing high school. In the first three years alone, College Connections participants collectively saved about $750,000 in college tuition. Programs like this are why M3 continues to be recognized for its efforts. Most recently, the National College Attainment Network gave MPS and the M3 partnership a grant to assist pandemic-affected high school seniors with their college enrollment. Only 23 organizations nationally were awarded such funding. M3 partners also have banded together to support MPS graduates attending MATC or UWM. Their smart start initiatives include an on-campus experience in addition to virtual support, which allows high school students to explore college before beginning in-person classes. Such efforts underline UWM’s commitment to eliminating equity gaps and helping provide every student in Milwaukee an opportunity to earn a college degree. – Genaro C. Armas UWM ALUMNI
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