Mackenzie Straub stand in the entrance to her classroom, smiling. The classroom door is decorated with colorful alphabet letters, and an American flag hangs above in the background.

One Wisconsin. On Wisconsin.

Bucky’s Tuition Promise makes college dreams come true for Wisconsin families

Story by Doug Erickson. Photos by Jeff Miller.

As students arrive for the school day in Mackenzie Straub’s third-grade classroom in Fish Creek, Wisconsin, they check in on a large, interactive screen that includes a photo of their teacher and another notable: Bucky Badger.

It’s a nod to Straub’s fond feelings toward her alma mater, the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Straub earned a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education from the UW–Madison School of Education in 2021. She now teaches in the same school district — and in the same school building — where she once attended third grade.

It’s a full-circle moment for Straub, one of many for the second-generation Door County resident. Her daily life abounds with the kinds of deep connections forged in small towns across the state.

Community members swooped in to support Straub when, at age 13, she lost her father, Gary, the owner of a local clothing store. His death, from esophageal cancer, upended the family’s financial situation. Affording college became questionable for Straub, but as she approached the end of her senior year of high school, UW–Madison unveiled an initiative intended to help students just like her.

When announced in 2018, Bucky’s Tuition Promise pledged to cover four years of tuition and segregated fees for any incoming freshman from Wisconsin whose family’s annual household adjusted gross income was $56,000 or less. The figure has since been raised to $65,000 — roughly the state’s median family income, meaning half of all Wisconsin families qualify.

Transfer students who are Wisconsin residents and who meet the same income criteria receive two years of free tuition and segregated fees.

“When my husband died, our future changed dramatically,” says Carol Straub, Mackenzie’s mother, adding that they had to close the family business when he became too ill to work. “We no longer had his income. Bucky’s Tuition Promise was a huge stress relief. We’ll forever be grateful for it.”

Teacher Mackenzie Straub, a 2021 graduate of the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Education, teaches third-grade children in her classroom at Gibraltar Elementary School in Fish Creek, Wis., on Feb. 7, 2025 — Mackenzie Straub teaches third-grade children in their classroom at Gibraltar Elementary School.

A person holds a series of yearbook class photos from Gibraltar Elementary School, displaying individual student and teacher portraits and names for the 2006-2007 Grade 1 class.

A head start on life

Mackenzie Straub is a graduate of the first cohort of students to receive Bucky’s Tuition Promise. Hundreds of recipients have now earned degrees from UW–Madison and are starting their careers.

“It alleviated so many financial burdens,” Straub says. “I still worked during the summers, but the idea of being able to focus solely on school during the academic year was huge.”

The benefits of Bucky’s Tuition Promise continue to reverberate in Straub’s life. She was able to graduate with no student debt — now the case for 66.3% of all UW–Madison undergraduates. That gave Straub a head start on many more of life’s milestones. She was able to quickly pursue an online master’s degree from Concordia University, thereby boosting her teacher’s salary. And recently, she and her husband, Andrew, who works at a nearby cherry orchard, built a house kitty-corner from her mom’s residence. For Straub, this will always be home.

Bringing success back to communities

UW–Madison now has three major financial aid initiatives that benefit Wisconsin residents. Bucky’s Pell Pathway, added in 2023, is an even more robust complement to Bucky’s Tuition Promise. Designed to assist Badgers from low-income Wisconsin households who qualify for Federal Pell Grants, it pledges to meet the full financial need without loans for incoming first-year students for four consecutive years and for transfer students for two consecutive years. In most cases, it covers tuition and fees, housing expenses, food, required course material, travel and other miscellaneous costs.

The Wisconsin Tribal Educational Promise Program, announced by Chancellor Jennifer L. Mnookin in 2023, offers financial support to cover the full cost of pursuing an undergraduate degree for state residents who are enrolled members of federally-recognized Wisconsin Indian tribes.

Together, these three initiatives have benefitted more than 8,000 students from Wisconsin over the past seven years.

“All of these financial aid initiatives embody the Wisconsin Idea,” says Derek Kindle, UW–Madison’s vice provost for enrollment management. “They show that when our talented Wisconsin students get the chance to succeed at UW–Madison, they do. And after graduation, many of them bring that success back to their communities.”

The programs are supported by private donations and other institutional resources, not taxpayer funds.

Group of smiling children with a teacher in a colorful classroom setting. — Straub sits with her third-grade students in their classroom at Gibraltar Elementary School.

The cycle of opportunity

“Don’t forget to turn in your homework,” Straub tells her 10 students as they arrive on a recent February morning. (Two are out sick — it’s the cold and flu season.)

Unprompted, third-grader Luca Torcivia tells a classroom visitor that Straub is the best teacher ever. “She’s super nice. At the start of the year, she gave us candy.”

Straub says it was always her goal to return to her hometown.

“I love this place so much,” she says. “It’s great to be able to run into my students when I’m out in the community — at the grocery store or at sports events. When you live in a community like this, you just know everybody.”

Two individuals are engaged in a conversation at a red table in a colorful classroom setting. — Jodi Hoyerman, left, and Straub talk about their past and current connections at Gibraltar Elementary School.

Straub’s first-grade teacher, Jodi Hoyerman, still teaches in the district — her classroom is just across from Straub’s. Principal Lauren Ward, who will start a PhD program at UW–Madison this fall, taught high school English to Straub. Straub’s mother, a substitute teacher in the district, often works near her daughter.

Straub and her husband are expecting their first child in April. A future Badger? Possibly, Straub says. Bucky’s Tuition Promise already has given her unborn daughter a gift, she says.

“I’m able to start saving for her college education.”

Learn more about UW-Madison’s impact on Wisconsin and your community

UW–Madison students serve as rural peer advisers

Three undergraduate students stand just inside the door of a dairy barn on the campus of UW–Madison

Bucky’s Tuition Promise makes college dreams come true for Wisconsin families

A head start on life

Bringing success back to communities

The cycle of opportunity

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Learn more about UW-Madison’s impact on Wisconsin and your community

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