Meet the 2026 Outstanding Returning Adult Student Award winners
Returning adult student and scholarship recipient Stephan Blanz addresses the audience at the Celebration of Outstanding Adult Students in 2024.
In the span of two weeks, Michael Rozier went from owning a successful woodworking business to experiencing debilitating pain throughout his entire body. It was sudden and severe, so much so that he could hardly walk or hold his guitar, much less use his woodworking tools. As he waited months for a diagnosis during the pandemic shutdown, he feared the future he’d just begun to build had slipped away.
This new reality would eventually lead him in an unexpected direction, one that would uncover a love for learning and earn him the Outstanding Undergraduate Returning Adult Student Award from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
For more than four decades, the award has recognized UW–Madison undergraduates who return to complete their degrees while balancing work, family and community commitments.
Later this month, the Division of Continuing Studies and the Division of Student Life will honor this year’s remarkable award winners, Leslie Wright and Michael Rozier, whose determination and perseverance exemplify the spirit of returning adult learners at UW–Madison. Now in its 45th year, the Celebration of Outstanding Adult Students will take place on April 30 to recognize these award recipients, as well as adult student scholarship winners and Badger Ready program students and graduates.
Consulting in the classroom — and beyond
After a sudden illness upended his woodworking career, Michael Rozier returned to school and discovered a passion for research and equity.
As he navigated the limits his illness imposed, Rozier realized he would need to imagine a different future. Encouraged by his wife, he enrolled in Madison College’s Liberal Arts Transfer program in 2022 and quickly discovered something he hadn’t expected.
“To my shock and disbelief, I not only succeeded but excelled in my courses,” he said. “I fell in love with learning and began to get really immersed in the world of theory and research.”
From the start, he knew he wanted to transfer to UW–Madison. He eventually landed in the university’s Gender & Women’s Studies degree program after taking Dr. Kate Phelps’s course Food for Thought, which examined the power dynamics surrounding food and access.
As a Black student in his thirties, Rozier says he sometimes feels the cultural and generational differences between himself and classmates born in the early 2000s. But he approaches those moments with openness and curiosity.
“Younger students often open up to me about entering the workforce,” he said. “For anyone interested in an industry that I have connections to, I offer to stay in touch and be a resource. I would like to think that I bring a valuable, lived perspective to my courses, given my identity and age.”
One instructor described Rozier’s contributions as “palpable and infectious,” saying his comments often pushed discussions in new directions and helped classmates connect theory to real‑world issues. He has maintained a 4.0 GPA and received a Women & Gender Studies Consortium Award in 2025.
After earning his bachelor’s degree, he plans to pursue a master’s degree in industrial/organizational psychology. His long‑term goal is to establish a consulting practice focused on improving workplace culture, equitable hiring practices and sustainable engagement with AI.
His advice to other adult learners: “Challenge your imposter syndrome by remembering the value that age diversity brings to a classroom.”
Community need becomes personal calling
After years of school board service and seeing rising mental health needs among youth, Leslie Wright returned to UW–Madison to pursue psychology.
Before returning to college at age 51, Leslie Wright had spent years immersed in her children’s school community. After stepping away from an earlier career to raise her four children, she became deeply involved in her local schools, first as a volunteer, then as a Parent-Teacher Organization leader. After encouragement from community members, she eventually ran for and landed a seat on her school district’s Board of Education.
Now in her fifth year on the Board, Leslie says the experience reshaped her understanding of education systems and revealed a growing need she couldn’t ignore: the rising mental health challenges facing students and staff.
“Being involved in my community helps me see the bigger picture — and UW–Madison is its own community that lifts people up,” she said. “When we pool together, that’s when we can do the most to help.”
Leslie transferred to UW–Madison in January 2025 after earning an associate degree (her second) from Madison College. Balancing full‑time coursework, parenting, part‑time work and school board service wasn’t easy, but she has maintained a minimum GPA of 3.7 and earned the Letters & Science Great People Award in 2025.
She credits her success to a strong support system: her husband and kids, her advisors and the campus offices that helped her navigate financial aid and academic planning. A flexible paid internship with Achieving Collaborative Treatment (ACT) gave her hands‑on experience in Applied Behavior Analysis therapy and helped clarify her long‑term goals.
“The only way I could really know which direction I wanted to take was to be in the field,” she said. “ACT was fabulous about working around my school and family schedule.”
Next, Leslie hopes to earn her master’s degree and begin working as a Licensed Professional Counselor‑in‑Training, working directly with adolescents and families.
Her advice to other adults considering college: “It’s never too late. Having a support system and a clear goal makes all the difference.”
For information on returning adult students and learner resources, visit University Special Student Services, a unit of UW–Madison’s Division of Continuing Studies, or email advising@dcs.wisc.edu.
Post written by Jill Schaefer.
Published on Apr 16 2026
Last Updated on May 21 2026
Categories: Student stories, University Special Student Services
