News & Events

There is also a posting at the Archdiocese of Milwaukee website.

Editor’s note: The above announcement was provided by the St. Patrick Catholic Parish.

UW-La Crosse announces May 2024 graduates

The following area students completed degree requirements at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in May.  

UW-La Crosse, founded in 1909, is one of 13 four-year institutions that comprise the Universities of Wisconsin. UWL has more than 10,400 full and part-time students enrolled in 101 undergraduate, 28 graduate and two doctoral academic programs.

UW-La Crosse, a top-ranked national university, is the No. 1 public university in Wisconsin with fewer than 25,000 students. See more at www.uwlax.edu

Students earning degrees in May include:

HOMETOWN, STATE; NAME, DEGREE, MAJOR(S), HONORS (if listed)
Whitewater, WI

 Bryce Hibbs, Bachelor of Science, Communication Studies Major: Organizational and Professional Communication Emphasis, Honors
 Josie Hintz, Bachelor of Science, Finance Major; Business Analytics Major, Highest Honors

A trio of Whitewater High School students, Chacha Binagi, Erison Dreksler, and Rae Breisath spent the week from July 21-26 at the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) for the MSOE Explore Summit for Project Lead the Way (PLTW) Students.

Each day, the students attended two class sessions on different areas of engineering that can be studied at MSOE, participating in lectures and projects. Areas covered included chemical/biomolecular engineering, biomedical engineering, computer science/software engineering, computer engineering, civil engineering, architectural engineering, mechanical engineering, and electrical engineering. During one of the workshops, students built their own miniature robots. 

In the evenings, students participated in fun activities including a comedy show and bingo. They also participated in a field trip to learn about cybersecurity. 

Each student received a $1000 scholarship from MSOE renewable for four years should they choose to attend that university. All three will be juniors at Whitewater High School this fall and are members of the Ferradermis FIRST Robotics Team. They qualified to attend the free summit as students enrolled in the PLTW Introduction to Engineering course at WHS last year.

Article Submitted by Laura Masbruch
Whitewater High School PLTW Teacher and Robotics Advisor
lmasbruch@wwusd.org
Photo Courtesy of Tori Breisath

Thirty-three robots from Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Iowa, and Missouri, including Ferradermis from Whitewater High School, took to the field at Rock Valley College in Rockford, Illinois on Saturday, July 27, for R2OC, the Rockford Robotics Offseason Competition.

Each offseason event typically connects a community service project with their competition, and this week it was donations of canned food and toiletries for the Rockford Rescue Mission. Maddi LaHaie and Elora Wildermuth-Breitzman were happy to drop off Ferradermis’ contribution with the event organizers.

Chief Lee the Tangerine, the Ferradermis 2024 robot, has now played over 80 competitive matches since it was completed in February, and the wear and tear is starting to take a toll on the bot. This showed on Saturday as structural portions of the robot needed to be replaced or repaired between many of the matches, but the pit crew was up to the challenge and came prepared with spare parts. Chief Lee the Tangerine will see two or three more competitions this summer and fall before it becomes a demo-only bot, but Ferradermis is also building a second robot that should be ready for competition in August.

Students working in the pit throughout the day included Andrew O’Toole, Erison Dreksler, Ace Hudec, Kay Mikos, Cooper O’Neal, Vivian Harris, and Elora Wildermuth-Breitzman alongside mentors Mark Zimmermann and Paul Kriegel. Kriegel is one of the team’s newest mentors and works as an engineer for Bobcat in Johnson Creek. He also brings a great deal of FIRST Robotics experience to the team as he was a team captain for RoboRiot out of Sheboygan when he was in high school. The team is always open to new mentors who can share their knowledge and experience with students when it comes to CAD, machining, mechanical work, programming, electrical work, business, writing, video editing, graphics, public relations, community outreach, and much more. If you are interested in becoming a mentor, please reach out to advisor Laura Masbruch at lmasbruch@wwusd.org.

Ferradermis was led onto the field on Saturday by Driver Andrew O’Toole, Operator Kay Mikos, Human Player Erison Dreksler, Technician Vivian Harris, and Drive Coach Mark Zimmermann. They were often joined on the field by Team Media Representative Isabella Cohen to get some up close photography. The team went 4-1 in their morning matches, ranking 6th at the end of qualification matches.

The top 8 ranking placed Ferradermis in a position to select their own alliance for the elimination round. Andrew Zimmermann, Chacha Binagi, and Margaret Brown had been working in the stands all morning to gather qualitative data on other robots and video matches for reference. Andrew Zimmermann then took the field as our Alliance Selection Representative and moved into the Captain’s spot for the #4 Alliance when two different pairs of teams ranked ahead of us agreed to join forces for the playoffs. Zimmermann invited Team 4655 Stateline Robotics from Honenegah Community High School in Illinois to join the Ferradermis alliance, and then together they selected Team 2039 Rockford Robotics, a community team from Rockford, to join the alliance as well. In a unique twist to alliance selections, the 8 highest ranked unselected teams drew numbers from a hat to become the 4th member of each alliance. All 4 robots on each alliance were required to play in at least one playoff match. Our 4th alliance member was Team 3352 Flaming Monkeys 4-H Robotics Club from Boone County, Illinois.

Ferradermis’ strategy was to play their 4th alliance partner immediately in their first match of the double elimination playoffs, and they fell to the #5 seeded alliance 87-52. Moving into the lower portion of the playoff bracket, the Ferradermis alliance next defeated the #8 seed 64-54 followed by the #2 seed 90-65. This led to a rematch with the #5 seed, which the Ferradermis alliance won 72-65. The day for Ferradermis came to an end in the third-place match when they fell to the eventual champions, the #3 seeded alliance captained by Team 2338 Gear it Forward from Oswego, Illinois, 95-74. Ferradermis finished the day with a 7-3 record.

Ferradermis appreciates all those who traveled to cheer us on, including recent grad Cosette Wildermuth-Breitzman and multiple parents, as well as those who follow the team online. The team will next take to the field in Eau Claire on August 17, but you can find them at the Whitewater City Market on August 6 as well. New members continue to be welcome; the team is open to any Whitewater High School student as well as home-schooled students residing within the physical boundaries of the school district.

Article and Photos Submitted by Laura Masbruch
Whitewater High School Robotics Advisor
lmasbruch@wwusd.org

The editor was on vacation for over two weeks recently, and the Banner is most appreciative of longtime volunteer staffers Laura Masbruch and Dee Hoglund for keeping the “presses” running so capably during this time. Thank you, Laura and Dee, for your dedicated work throughout the years, and especially for taking on this additional responsibility.

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High school seniors will begin receiving admissions offers from the Universities of Wisconsin the week of July 28 under the new Direct Admit Wisconsin program, UWs President Jay Rothman announced on July 24.

Wisconsin seniors who have met Direct Admit Wisconsin requirements will be notified of their Direct Admit offers beginning next week and continuing into September. Participating students should check their high school email accounts for these notices, Rothman said.

“Direct Admit Wisconsin makes it easy to enroll in and pursue a UW education,” Rothman said. “We want students and their families to know there is a place for them at the Universities of Wisconsin.”

Rothman said some students don’t see themselves as succeeding at the college level. Direct Admit Wisconsin tells them otherwise and makes enrollment as easy as possible.

Rothman is urging members of the Class of 2025 to be vigilant in checking their high school email accounts and to follow the instructions for next steps to learn more about the Universities of Wisconsin that have admitted them. Students will need to complete a Direct Admit form to connect with UWs they are interested in and accept their admission offers. There is no fee to complete the Direct Admit form.

Under Direct Admit Wisconsin, qualified high school students from participating schools are automatically admitted to up to 10 UWs without ever having to submit an application. Students must choose to participate in the program and are admitted based upon their grades and coursework after completion of their junior year. They must meet all admissions requirements, enroll for their senior year of high school, and stay on track to graduate.

Students must have been enrolled in one of the nearly 350 participating public and private high schools across Wisconsin. [Whitewater Unified School District Superintendent Caroline Pate-Hefty told the Banner that, “It is a parental choice for our families to opt in or not (of this program). We give them the option.”]  All UWs are participating in Direct Admit Wisconsin except UW-Madison, UW-Eau Claire, and UW-La Crosse. Students, including those receiving Direct Admit offers, may still submit an application to those universities.

In addition to the notifications via high school email accounts, students will also receive Direct Admit offer letters through the U.S. mail in the coming weeks. Rothman urged parents and students to be on the lookout.

“It’s summer, and we know students are busy with work, vacation, sports, and other activities so we want to call attention to these important communications,” Rothman said. “It could be life changing.”

Students interested in any of the Universities of Wisconsin can also go to Wisconsin.edu any time to learn more about the constellation of 13 public universities.

The Universities of Wisconsin look forward to expanding the number of participating high schools and students in the coming year. Juniors at currently participating high schools will be asked to sign up for Direct Admit Wisconsin later this fall.

Rothman also thanked Infinite Campus, Skyward, and PowerSchool, which operate student information systems at the participating high schools, for their partnership with Direct Admit Wisconsin.

Editor’s note: The above press release was provided by the Universities of Wisconsin.