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Dressing for future success

Students in Rachel Rubenstein’s ’14 third grade class were immersed in the college experience and what UW spirit is all about when past editions of The Red Shirt™ came out of retirement to inspire and excite these Badgers of the future.

The third graders who attend Carver Elementary School in St. Louis aren’t just looking forward to summer break. No, they’re setting their sights further down the road.

During College Week this past October, the students in Rachel Rubenstein’s ’14 class — along with the entire Carver Elementary student body — were immersed in what college is like, why earning a degree is important, and what it takes to get admitted.

But Rubenstein, who was placed at Carver through Teach for America (an organization whose mission is to eliminate educational inequity), wanted to give her students an extra taste of what college life is like. So she turned to the most spirited school she knows: her alma mater.

“I couldn't be prouder of the world-class education I received at the UW,” said Rubenstein. “In my family, being a Badger is a tradition. I've had a relative graduate from the university each decade since the 1960s. I even had Babcock ice cream at my first birthday!”

That dedication, and those credentials, warranted more than the usual Badger gear. So, courtesy of the Wisconsin Alumni Association, past editions of The Red Shirt™ came out of retirement and were sent to Rubenstein’s class to inspire and excite these college-bound Badgers of the future.

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“At Carver, we want all students to know about college and the opportunities that come from a college education.”
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“I wanted to be involved with Teach for America because the zip code in which a child is born shouldn’t dictate the expectations held for that child nor the trajectory of his/her life.”
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“When I handed out shirts to my homeroom students, they recognized Bucky and couldn't wait to put them on.”
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“My third graders were amazed to see pictures of the libraries on campus, the colorful Union chairs, Lake Mendota and the sailboats, and students reading and studying on Bascom Hill.”

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