Tiffany Derden, a MadisonEastHigh School graduate, said that tutoring through the College’s Student Success programs helped her complete the two-year Fire Protection Service program in 2007.

Now a firefighter near Tomah, Tiffany described the tutoring services as "awesome.” She was surprised that the College had tutors prepared to give specific training to students in firefighting, Emergency Medical Technician courses and other protective services.

"I thank God I got great advice almost on a day-to-day basis during all this time,” said Tiffany, who works on the Volk Field Air National Guard Base firefighter team run by the civilian Camp Douglas Fire Department, about 10 minutes from Tomah, Wisconsin.

Other students like Tiffany can get tutoring and special classes, including English as a Second Language through Learning Centers at the FortAtkinson campus, the Truax campus near the airport and the DowntownEducationCenter. The College also offers writing centers at Truax and Downtown.

Current Student Success facilities at the College are considered primitive by modern standards. The College is developing labs for refresher coursework in math, science and language. It has a one-room employment placement center recently hewn out of the Wolf Pack Lounge.

With additional resources, Madison College will increase career advising space, sponsor employer events like career fairs, and enhance a statewide, online help-wanted service. The College aspires to be a one-stop-shop for the full range of employers: those in the start up phase of emerging technologies, as well as our established base of healthcare, technology, manufacturing, finance and government.

At the same time, the College's students will face dizzying opportunities that will need to be explained and researched with the help of trained advisers who understand the students' capacities and ambitions for success in the workplace. Career assessment, maintaining connections with students both before and after graduation, facilitating part-time employment while enrolled at the College, and hosting a clearing house for employment services college-wide are among the outcomes of a Career and TransferCenter.

Your donation to the Smart Future campaign could spur the College’s efforts in all these areas.