Civic Engagement Archives - Page 2 of 11

“It is a blessing to live in community, to love and serve God and God’s people.”

Leave a Comment / Community / By Jen Rubin

I am a Dominican Sister of Sinsinawa whose congregation — a religious community of Catholic Sisters — is based in the southwestern Wisconsin town of Sinsinawa. Photos by Tyra Leonard Born and raised in Big Spring, Texas, I am also Mexican American and a third-generation American. My parents are devout members of their Catholic parish. …

“It is a blessing to live in community, to love and serve God and God’s people.” Read More »

Sister Priscilla Torres, OP | Madison, WI

“Flying airplanes was my dream.”

Leave a Comment / Adventure / By Jen Rubin

A long time ago, I dated a pilot who took me flying—multiple times, actually. And I fell in love with it. Photos by Hedi Lamarr Rudd It was one of those moments where a light bulb went off and I thought, ‘Hey, I could do this.’ And I thought more about it and decided if …

“Flying airplanes was my dream.” Read More »

Susan Schwaab | Madison, WI

“I dedicate my life to educating others about Native people.”

Tradition / By Maria Parrott-Ryan

My name is Dylan Jennings, or Bizhikiins—Young Buffalo, as we translate from Ojibwemowin, our language. Photos by Megan Monday “My parents were really young when they had me, just out of high school. They met down by Waaswaaganing, or the Lac du Flambeau Reservation, near Minocqua. They stuck together to raise me and to take …

“I dedicate my life to educating others about Native people.” Read More »

Dylan Jennings | Odanah, WI

A Century-old, Family-run Farm Perfects the Corn Maze.

Leave a Comment / Our Land / By Jen Rubin

When I was a kid, I always wanted to live on a farm. I often asked my parents, ‘Can we at least live in the country?’ I loved animals more than anything. Photos by Hedi Lamarr Rudd But we always lived in town, in the La Crosse area. My dad’s a physician and my mom …

A Century-old, Family-run Farm Perfects the Corn Maze. Read More »

Angie Lathrop | Lodi, Wisconsin

Buzz grew up fishing on Wisconsin rivers. As a Lake Planner for the State of Wisconsin he worked to improve the health of WI waterways.

“I want my grandchildren to have the same clear-water experiences I had growing up.”

Leave a Comment / Our Land, Uncategorized / By Jen Rubin

I was an extremely lucky kid to grow up on a small farm. I’m the seventh of eight kids in a farm family from down in far southwest Richland County. Our home farm is right above the Wisconsin River. Photos by Andi Stempniak I grew up exploring the Driftless ridges where I could hunt and …

“I want my grandchildren to have the same clear-water experiences I had growing up.” Read More »

Buzz Sorge | Osseo, Wisconsin

“A creative mind with military fortitude.”

Leave a Comment / Community / By Jen Rubin

I was born and raised in Kyle, Texas. My mom was extremely creative and crafty and just loved making pretty things. Photos by Colleen Bies Growing up in the projects and being raised by a single mom for most of my childhood, my siblings and I never felt like we were missing anything. My mom …

“A creative mind with military fortitude.” Read More »

Nichole Garcia | Green Bay, WI

The Food Doula

Leave a Comment / Community / By Jen Rubin

I was born in Chicago Heights, a Chicago suburb. When I was six years old, my family and I moved to Middleton, Wisconsin because my dad had a new job. Photos by Hedi Lamarr Rudd This was a huge culture shock and a tough experience for me. In Chicago Heights, I was around a lot …

The Food Doula Read More »

Qwantese Winters | Madison, WI

“I speak for things that don’t have a voice.”

Leave a Comment / Our Land / By Jen Rubin

I am called Paul DeMain, but my name is Skabewis in the Ojibwe language. I take the title ‘The Messenger.’ I speak for things that don’t have a voice. I speak for the water, and for our natural world that is impacted by water. Photos by Julian Emerson I grew up in Wausau and have …

“I speak for things that don’t have a voice.” Read More »

Paul DeMain | Lac Courte Oreilles Reservation, WI

“I love living in this amazing place.”

Leave a Comment / Our Land / By Jen Rubin

I am a water girl, and absolutely love being on, in, or near the water. Just yesterday my husband, 16-year-old son and I spent a few hours in our boat fishing for smallmouth bass near Ashland on Lake Superior. This is one of my favorite places because the Big lake has a special beauty that …

“I love living in this amazing place.” Read More »

MaryJo Gingras | Ashland, WI

“We can’t do anything without clean water.”

Leave a Comment / Our Land / By Jen Rubin

The neighborhood I grew up on had a lot of green spaces. We were in the middle of Milwaukee but all around me, people were growing things. Photo by Jade Iseri-Ramos My great-grandmother had a garden four houses away from ours. Every spring, she would take her hoses out of the basement and attach them …

“We can’t do anything without clean water.” Read More »

Wilniesha Smith | Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Farming Music in The Driftless

Leave a Comment / Creativity / By Jen Rubin

My ancestors came from Ireland and Ohio to a parcel of land in the Driftless region and homesteaded in 1854. Photo by Hedi Lamarr Rudd I am the sixth generation to be raised on the family property formerly used as a 40-head milking dairy farm, but the government pretty much forced out family farms. It’s …

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Crickett Lochner | Yuba, WI

“I don’t want to stop moving forward.”

Leave a Comment / Community / By Jen Rubin

When my family first came to Green Bay, it was a big change. I came from the second largest city in Mexico to a small town, and the adjustment was difficult. Photos courtesy of Rogelio Contreras Just the language difference was more difficult than anything. All I knew about Green Bay was that summers were …

“I don’t want to stop moving forward.” Read More »

Rogelio Contreras | Green Bay, WI

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