Aug 8: The number of UW-Milwaukee students receiving scholarships, and the amount of money awarded, have soared in the last three years.
Between the 2021-22 and 2024-25 academic years, the number of students receiving scholarships rose from 33percentage to 46percentage, while the value of that aid ballooned from Dollar 20 million to Dollar 30 million.
The growth is due in part to efforts by the Office of Student Scholarships to simplify the application process and match students with available funds.
Joshua Thaisananikone knows how life-changing a scholarship can be. He remembers clearly the snowy February morning in 2022, during his senior year at Riverside University High School in Milwaukee, when he learned that he had received a Nadella Scholarship in Tech Education. His counselor at Riverside had encouraged him to apply for the scholarship, which was brand-new that year, created for Milwaukee-area high school students intent on studying computer science and related fields.
Thaisananikone had been accepted to multiple universities, but the Nadella scholarship, which offers full tuition and room and board for up to five years, made his decision easy.
“I was tilting toward UWM, but the financial aid made it a slam dunk,” he said. “My parents were so happy. It was like this rock had been lifted off their shoulders.”
Thaisananikone graduated from UWM in May with a bachelor’s degree in computer science and a degree from the Honors College, a member of the first cohort of Nadella Scholars. Six other Nadella scholars graduated with him, while two more from the inaugural cohort will graduate in December.
The Nadella Scholarship is provided through the generosity of UWM computer science alumnus and Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella and Anu Nadella, who have donated more than $4 million to support tech education.
Providing financial and academic support
A first-generation college student, Thaisananikone was born in the United States to parents who emigrated from Laos before he was born. In addition to a full ride, the Nadella Scholars program provided him with a success coach on campus, Ariel Milton-Kern, associate director of the Student Success Center, who met with him regularly and provided guidance on navigating college life. “She was always willing to help,” Thaisananikone said.
She even wrote him a letter of recommendation for an internship he will complete this summer with the Library of Congress, where he will help test software applications for the copyright office. The internship is designed to lead eventually to full-time employment.
“I’m interested in government tech because you’re programming something that millions of people are going to rely on,” he said.
In September, Thaisananikone will return to UWM to continue work on an accelerated master’s degree in computer science that he’s already begun.
Based on his own experience, Thaisananikone coaches friends to make time to apply for scholarships. “You should really take advantage of every scholarship, small or large,” he said. “They add up.”
Making it easier to apply for scholarships
Since 2021, the Office of Student Scholarships has intensified efforts to connect eligible students with available aid, said Joel Spiess, chief enrollment operations officer and executive director of student financial services.
Scholarships help boost the number of students who enroll and eventually graduate. “I like to say that every scholarship offered represents a student who feels seen, supported and empowered to choose UWM,” Spiess said.
He and his team have worked to coordinate and streamline scholarships at UWM, and the number of students applying for them has risen by 38% since 2021. The Panther Scholarship Portal is the single spot where students can find and apply for all UWM scholarships. Once a student completes an application on the portal, it generates a personalized list of recommended scholarships, based on details such as the applicant’s GPA, major and hometown. Students also receive alerts if new scholarship opportunities become available.
The Office of Student Scholarships recently shifted application deadlines to make them earlier. Incoming students must apply for scholarships by Nov. 1, while current students can apply between Nov. 1 and Feb. 1. This allows the university to inform students by March 1 about the aid they will receive for the following academic year.
“We want students and families to get one master offer that lists all of the aid — grants, loans and scholarships — so that months before the term begins they know exactly what it’s going to cost and they have time to plan,” Spiess said.
May 1 is the deadline for students to accept scholarship offers for the following academic year.
Donors make scholarships possible
In 2021, UWM established the Panther Pathways Scholarship Fund, an endowed, unrestricted fund that allows donations from alumni and other supporters to fund student scholarships. The fund gives the Office of Student Scholarships the flexibility to “fill in the gaps” and award scholarships depending on student need each year, said Christina Makal McCaffery, assistant vice chancellor for development.
To date, the fund has raised about $1 million in current-use funds and endowment, McCaffery said. The goal is to continue to grow the endowment to ensure that scholarships are reliably available, year after year.
Based on current trends of donor giving and the ongoing work to match eligible students to the right scholarships, Spiess predicts that the number of scholarships earned by UWM students will continue to grow.
When they accept a scholarship at UWM, students are asked to comment on what the gift means to them. “The No. 1 thing we hear,” Spiess said, “is that students like knowing there is someone out there that they haven’t met who believes in their potential.”