Stay Confident

MIHEC Student Profile: Alicia Wickhem

I love learning, and I wanted to learn more about what’s after high school and see what possibilities there are for an adult who thinks learning is important. I did some online research and found Edgewood College and its Cutting Edge program. I love the school atmosphere. I like my friends and teachers, and I got a lot of support from the course coaches. I like it so much that I decided I wanted to be a teacher, and I earned a bachelor’s degree in education and a certificate in paraprofessional education at Edgewood. It helped me get to where I am today.

As part of the Cutting Edge program, I worked for a semester as a teacher’s aide. After Edgewood, I got a job as an afternoon teacher at a preschool in Madison. I love it there and it feels like I’m at home even though I’m at work. I can see myself staying there.

I actually met my husband, Tad, at Edgewood. We met because he gave me one of my first tours of Edgewood, and I didn’t even realize it. Our advisor introduced us and then we dated for six years. He proposed, and we got married this past October. We took ballroom dance lessons because we wanted to learn a dance for our wedding, and we decided we loved it, so we go a couple of times a month now. I’ve been a dancer for a long time, so I’m helping him learn the steps.

If you’re thinking of going to college, stay comfortable in your skin. It’s important to stay confident in who you are. Originally, I was scared about going so far away to college, but if you’re uneasy, it’s harder to find your way. Stay confident in who you are, and follow your dream of going to college.