Xai Xiong

I will forever be grateful for what the Ardnt Family has provided for me and my family. The words are limitless. What this scholarship have done for me and many high school students around Madison is help them pursue higher education with less stress on finances.

As a first-generation student, the financial barriers may be enormous. This scholarship has laid off any loans that I might’ve had to take out. Because of this, I was able to graduate without any loans and at the same time, receive an opportunity that my parents couldn't afford.

My five years at the University of Wisconsin-Madison lead me to studying abroad in South Korea, gaining friendships and network,  and educating myself beyond borders. I majored in Life Sciences Communication with a certificate in Digital Studies and deeply enjoyed working with the staff in the department. I also spent a lot of my time working with diversity programs across UW-Madison and spent three years working for the Center for Educational Opportunity where I developed and matured greatly as a student and a worker. 

I currently am employed with the Morgridge Center for Public Service as their Communications Specialist. In this position, I work on promoting and marketing Morgridge Center programming, brand management, student intern supervising and more. Before I was at the Morgridge Center, I worked at the UW-Extension - FoodWIse as their Office Operations Associate.