UW-Madison offers 136 different majors and 94 certificates. We have student organizations for everyone—from people who strive to become business professionals to those who just want to try new types of cheeses all the time. There are so many different types of people with different interests, but when it all comes down to it, we all share a common identity: we are the Badgers.
And there are a few things that only UW-Madison students understand:
1. Getting your acceptance letter was one of the best days of your life.
2. Trying to get season tickets for football might be more stressful than finals week.
3. And trying to get season tickets for basketball is almost impossible.
4. “Jump Around” is not just a song. It’s the Badger anthem, and it is one of your favorite parts of going to football games.
5. And the football experience is not complete until you have sung along to “Build Me Up Buttercup” or “Sweet Caroline”—even if it’s only you and a few other people singing it on your way out of the stadium.
6. Your first time experiencing the terrace was magical.
7. And you have at least thought about what it would be like to steal a terrace chair.
8. While walking up Bascom you might have remembered how during your campus tour they told you walking up this hill only burns one Cheeto. And you know you should at least burn off two Cheetos for that trek.
9. Lakeshore Path during the day is one of the best places on campus to get some exercise.
10. But Lakeshore Path at night is to be avoided at all costs.
11. “Work hard, play hard” takes on a new meaning in Wisconsin.
12. Your school pride was at an all time high when we beat Kentucky in the Final Four.
13. Getting Ian’s pizza is the best decision you make when you are out on the weekend.
14. But once you get there, the line feels like it will never end.
15. People still make assumptions about you based on where you lived freshman year.
16. The yellow triangle and red square are the scariest symbols when you are trying to register for classes.
17. But you are incredibly thankful that the system moved online after Alumni tell you that they literally had to run around a building trying get into their classes.
18. Babcock ice cream makes the freshman 15 almost inevitable, especially with the housing discount.
19. You were yelled at as a freshman for walking around at night in “freshman packs.”
20. Food and a long nap are necessities after Badger games.
21. You have purposely not taken at least one class because it was too early or too far from your other classes—or in Science Hall, because there are way too many stairs to get into that building.
22. Sometimes FAC needs to be written into your schedule. #TGIF
23. And forget the Keystone or Natty Light, you need a Wisconsin brewed Spotted Cow.
24. You have spent more than one late night stressed over something you procrastinated on at College Library.
25. Graduation is one of the most bittersweet days of your life. But no matter what, you know you will always bleed red.
All of us have a different experience from the time that we come to SOAR to the day we accept our diplomas. The Wisconsin experience is different for everyone, but the community that we have here is unlike anywhere I have ever been. The sense of school spirit and Badger pride is contagious. It is one of the best parts about going to Wisconsin, and I could not be prouder to call myself a Badger. On Wisconsin!