The college's smooth and seamless transfer programs lead students to bachelor's degrees
Here are three stories of MATC alumni who received an associate degree in the General Education Pathway then transferred to one of Wisconsin's four-year universities.
Iris Sanchez
Iris Sanchez
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Iris Sanchez was always one of the best of the best at MATC.
She earned "A's" in every course she took and made the President's List four times. She was inducted into Phi Theta Kappa, an international honor society, and the National Society of Leadership and Success. She participated in student government, volunteered at the Milwaukee Rescue Mission and raised her daughter.
In the fall of 2022, she was named one of MATC's outstanding students for earning her associate of arts degree and spoke at the 2022 Winter Commencement.
She did all of that while on MATC's UWM Panther Tracks transfer program, which guarantees admission to UWM for MATC students who meet certain academic requirements. Last spring, she enrolled in UWM's nutritional science program.
Because all her MATC credits transferred over, she was able to take classes in her major right away. "The professors here have told me they can tell I have had experience," Sanchez said.
She did exceptionally well in her first semester, earning a 4.0 GPA. "I owe that to my experience at MATC," she said. "It helped me with the skills needed to excel."
Sanchez said she plans to finish her bachelor's degree and then continue at UWM to earn a master's of public health degree in nutrition and dietetics. She intends to become a registered dietitian nutritionist and make an impact in the community through nutrition.
Sanchez goes to school full time, works as a shift manager at a Panda Express restaurant, volunteers once or twice a week at the campus food pantry and raises her daughter.
"Without a doubt MATC was the right decision for me. The college gave me so many opportunities. I think because of the way MATC is structured, they care a lot about each student. I gained unmatchable experience in how to navigate learning, working and living," Sanchez said.
"I feel like MATC is home," she added. "My whole time here I felt supported and recognized. It felt like I had a second family and that was something I really needed in my college experience. MATC provided the perfect foundation for me to be successful."
Paula Phillips
Paula Phillips
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Paula Phillips has always wanted to make a difference.
She grew up in the northern Illinois suburb of Grayslake, daughter to parents who came to the United States from the Philippines. For a short time, she attended ministry college and planned to become a missionary.
Instead, she left school and served two years in AmeriCorps, an agency that engages more than 5 million volunteers to improve lives, strengthen communities and foster civic engagement across the United States. In her second year, she served in Milwaukee and attended an evening class in sociology at MATC. She took another class, then another and yet another.
"The caliber of instructors at MATC is so strong," said Phillips, who has served as director of Milwaukee County's Equity Operations since September 2022. "They make that effort to reach you as a student. At a four-year school, you have to do that yourself a lot of times. The instructors at MATC advocated for you."
Phillips received an associate of arts degree from MATC in 2014. She heard about MATC's Badger Track program, which guarantees students with a 3.0 GPA who complete 54 MATC credits admission to UW-Madison. She enrolled in the program and transferred. "It was such an easy process," she said. "It was seamless once I was on the track."
At UW-Madison, she earned a bachelor's degree in agricultural and applied economics, along with a certificate in global health in 2016. She then continued her career of service, working for the YWCA Southeast Wisconsin, the Medical College of Wisconsin and City Year Milwaukee. She was on the advisory board of Public Allies Wisconsin in Milwaukee and served a four-year term as an elected member of the Milwaukee Board of School Directors from 2017 to 2021.
Her educational base was strong and solid thanks to MATC. "For me it's important that I put on my bios that I am an MATC graduate," Phillips said. "The weird stigmas people have of technical and community colleges are dumb."
"The outcomes and the impact are there. You have far less debt, you get a job quicker and you keep your job longer," she added. "Many first-generation kids hope that education is a way to be successful. MATC certainly helped me start and succeed on that path."
Braxton Clarke
Braxton Clarke
Marquette University
Braxton Clarke has modest life goals.
He wants only to run the world.
"I'm finding there are some steps I might need to take before I get there," Clarke said with a laugh.
Because of the rigorous educational foundation he built at MATC and the college's transfer process, Clarke is a student at Marquette University.
Born and raised in Milwaukee, Clarke graduated from Brown Deer High School in 2015 and didn't know what he wanted to do. Clarke worked for two years before he and a friend decided to enroll in MATC.
Not sure of his career direction, he tried computer science and business management before deciding to get an associate degree in liberal arts. He also worked in the grants and resources office while an MATC student and earned his associate degree in 2019.
Marquette accepted practically all of his credits, and he earned a scholarship through the university's Educational Opportunity Program to pay tuition.
He also found his new university a much different place than MATC. "Marquette is a larger campus and there's always something to do, so I needed to work on time management," he said. "The classes were much bigger. I was used to the more intimate classes at MATC."
Clarke plans to get a degree in sociology from Marquette in the spring of 2025. He took 2023 off from classes and worked as an information technology support specialist, serving customers around the globe in data migration, troubleshooting and desktop support.
"For me, MATC was a perfect training ground." Clarke said. "Between MATC and Marquette, I have experienced two different environments, and I think that can only make me a more well-rounded person."