Fox Cities News

Jasmine La Sage, a senior at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh (UWO), is set to make history in her family as the first member to graduate with a college degree. Majoring in elementary education, La Sage is currently student teaching at Emmeline Cook Elementary School in Oshkosh.

La Sage's journey to graduation was not without its challenges. Her grandparents worked as migrant workers and her mother raised her as a teen mom. Despite these obstacles, she is now among the 1,400-plus UWO students who will cross the stage at commencement on Saturday.

“My family is so excited,” said La Sage. “Education has always been important to my family, but they didn’t get the opportunities to achieve their educational goals.”

Her grandparents were originally from Laredo, Texas, a city bordering Mexico. Her grandfather was an itinerant worker who traveled frequently for work. Her grandmother had her first child at age 14 and another a few years later. She moved the family to Menasha, Wisconsin in 1987 after years of seasonal work picking berries and working on farms.

La Sage's family always encouraged her focus on education from a young age. She participated in numerous after-school activities such as gymnastics, softball, soccer, basketball, dance and cross country.

“I did everything,” said La Sage. “I had to be in sports because that would keep me out of trouble. It was always the standard that education was really important, and I was going to be the one to be the change for our family.”

Kimberly Oamek, an assistant professor in the College of Education and Human Services at UWO, praised La Sage's perseverance throughout her time in the program.

“(Jasmine) has demonstrated incredible perseverance during her time in the program and she is poised to make incredible contributions to education locally,” said Oamek.

In reflecting on her experiences and cultural background, La Sage wrote: “Being the first that has made it this far and will soon graduate college, there is and has been a huge weight on my shoulders. I have always felt like my family’s guinea pig, being the first to make these generational changes to make everyone proud."

La Sage hopes to secure a local teaching position after graduation. However, her immediate concern is informing her proud family that she only has eight tickets for the graduation ceremony.

“Yeah, we’re going to have some awkward conversations,” she said with a laugh. “But I know that a big piece of me graduating is them graduating with me.”