MONROE - The R. Kubly Family Foundation has awarded another scholarship-loan to one of Monroe's students.
Brittany Wilson, daughter of Herb and Cindy Wilson, graduated from Monroe High School in 2004. She went on to graduate with a double major in Spanish and sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2008.
She will pursue her law degree beginning this fall at UW-Madison, with visions of growing Monroe and Green County in the future.
Wilson has been working at the Voegeli, Ewald, Bartholf law firm for about a year, and said she has a "new found appreciation" for Monroe, after her undergraduate experiences in Madison.
"It's nice to go to the post office, and have everybody know my name," she said.
Wilson was accepted at several law schools, and the University of Minnesota was her favorite, but she chose Madison at the last moment.
"I kept switching, back and forth, back and forth," she said. "I finally choose Madison because it's closer to family - and it's a little cheaper."
The R. Kubly Family Foundation scholarship-loan awards 50 percent of her tuition.
If Wilson returns to live and work in Monroe after she graduates, and gets involved in the community as a strong leader, her scholarship-loan will be completely forgiven.
The mission of the R. Kubly Family Foundation is to increase the quality of life in Monroe by increasing the number of highly educated individuals living and working in Monroe.
"These individuals are our future leaders who will help Monroe grow and encourage other professionals to come to Monroe to live and work. Brittany's passion is to serve as a public service attorney, and help lower income residents," said Sheila Berrey, public relations manager at The Swiss Colony.
"The subject of growing Monroe is an important one, and this scholarship has the potential to make quite an impact. If two or more highly qualified people per year are incented to live and work in Monroe through this scholarship-loan program and become strong leaders in our community, the possibilities of growth and improvement through their involvement are endless," Berrey said.
Wilson has a wide smile when talking about her upcoming three-year adventure.
"I'm excited about meeting new people and new challenges; but I'm scared to death of the one four-hour test that determines my grade for the class," she said.
Law seems to be a sharp turn in Wilson's educational pursuits, but there were several clues of it coming.
She volunteered in the Migration Education Program to use her Spanish degree and discovered she could advocate for justice for those she was assisting. She helped an elderly woman get repairs made in her apartment by translating for her landlord, and she helped a man find a lost paycheck by translating for his boss.
She is involved in the Literacy Council of Green County, translating legal documents and serving as an English tutor for a Hispanic couple.
In her sociology course, Wilson became particularly interested in criminal justice and criminology classes.
Her present law interests lean toward criminal prosecution, immigration and non-profit organizations.
"But that could all change," she said with a laugh. "Attorneys have told me they wanted to go into tax law and came out of school wanting to go into prosecution."
But all of Wilson's work, whether volunteer or for pay, will have to take a hiatus, as she enters the University of Wisconsin Law School. She is not allowed to work during her first year in law school, which makes the R. Kubly Family Foundation scholarship more important to her success. And her move to Madison means turning her tutoring over to another volunteer.
But when she finishes school, Wilson plans to be back as a lawyer in Monroe, and to set in motion her visions of growing Monroe and Green County.
Brittany Wilson, daughter of Herb and Cindy Wilson, graduated from Monroe High School in 2004. She went on to graduate with a double major in Spanish and sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2008.
She will pursue her law degree beginning this fall at UW-Madison, with visions of growing Monroe and Green County in the future.
Wilson has been working at the Voegeli, Ewald, Bartholf law firm for about a year, and said she has a "new found appreciation" for Monroe, after her undergraduate experiences in Madison.
"It's nice to go to the post office, and have everybody know my name," she said.
Wilson was accepted at several law schools, and the University of Minnesota was her favorite, but she chose Madison at the last moment.
"I kept switching, back and forth, back and forth," she said. "I finally choose Madison because it's closer to family - and it's a little cheaper."
The R. Kubly Family Foundation scholarship-loan awards 50 percent of her tuition.
If Wilson returns to live and work in Monroe after she graduates, and gets involved in the community as a strong leader, her scholarship-loan will be completely forgiven.
The mission of the R. Kubly Family Foundation is to increase the quality of life in Monroe by increasing the number of highly educated individuals living and working in Monroe.
"These individuals are our future leaders who will help Monroe grow and encourage other professionals to come to Monroe to live and work. Brittany's passion is to serve as a public service attorney, and help lower income residents," said Sheila Berrey, public relations manager at The Swiss Colony.
"The subject of growing Monroe is an important one, and this scholarship has the potential to make quite an impact. If two or more highly qualified people per year are incented to live and work in Monroe through this scholarship-loan program and become strong leaders in our community, the possibilities of growth and improvement through their involvement are endless," Berrey said.
Wilson has a wide smile when talking about her upcoming three-year adventure.
"I'm excited about meeting new people and new challenges; but I'm scared to death of the one four-hour test that determines my grade for the class," she said.
Law seems to be a sharp turn in Wilson's educational pursuits, but there were several clues of it coming.
She volunteered in the Migration Education Program to use her Spanish degree and discovered she could advocate for justice for those she was assisting. She helped an elderly woman get repairs made in her apartment by translating for her landlord, and she helped a man find a lost paycheck by translating for his boss.
She is involved in the Literacy Council of Green County, translating legal documents and serving as an English tutor for a Hispanic couple.
In her sociology course, Wilson became particularly interested in criminal justice and criminology classes.
Her present law interests lean toward criminal prosecution, immigration and non-profit organizations.
"But that could all change," she said with a laugh. "Attorneys have told me they wanted to go into tax law and came out of school wanting to go into prosecution."
But all of Wilson's work, whether volunteer or for pay, will have to take a hiatus, as she enters the University of Wisconsin Law School. She is not allowed to work during her first year in law school, which makes the R. Kubly Family Foundation scholarship more important to her success. And her move to Madison means turning her tutoring over to another volunteer.
But when she finishes school, Wilson plans to be back as a lawyer in Monroe, and to set in motion her visions of growing Monroe and Green County.