September 2025 Newsletter
A Season of Transformation
Children have returned to classrooms, leaves have begun to change, and we prepare for shorter days. In these moments of transition, we are reminded that growth often comes when we are stretched, asked to adapt, and invited to rise in new ways. Our Tutor-Mentors step into their own season of transformation as they move from being students to becoming leaders in K–5 classrooms.
Root 2 Rise builds strong foundations of community, belonging, and support. When high school juniors and seniors are given a place to grow their roots, they discover the strength to rise and inspire others.
For many of our Tutor-Mentors, Root 2 Rise is a series of firsts: the first time being trusted as a role model, the first time signing a contract, the first time believing that school has a place for them. The results prove that when we nurture and believe in young people, they grow in ways that lift us all.
—Denise Hanson, Founder & Executive Director
A Catalyst for Real Change
Root 2 Rise changed Bryanna Montgomery’s view of teaching, education – and life.
“Before Root 2 Rise, I really didn’t want to go to school” and had no career goals, she said.
A proud parent
Bryanna Montgomery’s father, Jovan, saw how Root 2 Rise motivated his daughter.
Bryanna now attends the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and plans to teach special education.
“I expected to be a shadow in the classroom when I started Root 2 Rise, but I was like a second teacher,” she said. “And I learned that teachers don’t just tell you what to do – they show you how you can become the person you wanted to become.”
Her interest in special education was influenced by her cousin with a learning disability who failed to receive adequate help in school. In addition to helping these students, Bryanna wants to be a role model for Black students.
“I’m proud of her,” said her father, Jovan. “It was a big change. Root 2 Rise showed her that she could be anything she wanted to be. It’s an opportunity we should give to every student.”
When the students Bryanna had helped saw her in Wal-Mart, Jovan said their enthusiastic greeting “was like seeing happiness heading straight toward us.
“We’re supposed to help people, right? And this is how we should be helping our kids because they’re our future.”
New Expectations
The distance between hope and reality is often not a gulf but a step.
Three graduates of Root 2 Rise are taking the next step in their remarkable journey, thanks to the UW-Madison Odyssey Project, which makes higher education possible for those for whom college seems out of reach.
Emily Auerbach, the indefatigable co-founder and executive director and of the program for 23 years, said Odyssey has helped more than 500 students, most of whom were told they “weren’t really college material,” and who have subsequently overcome daunting handicaps such as poverty, homelessness, and learning disorders.
“I didn’t expect the experience to be so great. It opened doors that I thought were completely closed,” said Alisha Taylor, who was a “single mother with four kids and no money” when she participated in Odyssey 11 years ago. “It changed my outlook on life.”
Emily Auerbach (left) and Alisha and Shaneece Taylor.
Denise Hanson, executive director of Root 2 Rise, urged Alisha’s daughter, Shaneece Taylor (an alumnus of Root 2 Rise) to apply to Odyssey’s 2026 class. She was among 30 selected of the 150 who applied.
“I’m excited to see where this leads,” Shaneece said. She believes it will be invaluable in her work helping homeless youth (a career choice she attributes to her experience with Root 2 Rise).
Odyssey also offers programs for youth, seniors, graduates of Odyssey, and the incarcerated. Auerbach says the need exceeds capacity. She tries to help all who apply by assisting them directly or linking them with other sources of help.
Auerbach is “discouraged and appalled” by reduced government support for Odyssey and similar programs. Although such action “is an attack on every value I have,” Auerbach said it won’t discourage her.
Shaneece’s daughter participates in Odyssey Junior. Alisha participates in an Odyssey alumni program and has encouraged her mother to join a program for seniors. If her mother does participate, Odyssey would enrich the lives of four generations.
“We’re grateful to work in a community that offers programs such as Odyssey,” Hanson said. “Combined with our Thrive program, they ensure that the optimism and values fostered in Root 2 Rise will lead to rewarding careers and purposeful lives.”
A New Perspective
Ja’Nell Mikes thanks Root 2 Rise “for believing in me,” which he said was instrumental in helping him graduate and in determining his career goals.
Julia Rocha Villanueva and Ja’Nell Mikes.
As a Tutor-Mentor in Tiffany Williams’ physical education class at Fairview Elementary School (near Portland, Oregon), Ja’Nell said he learned patience and leadership.
When the students he helped were “loud and not listening” he “learned how to redirect them while also getting their respect,” he said.
Choosing the daily warm-ups and activities, and leading the class gave him “a new perspective on teaching. I got to know the children and they got to know me.”
The ability to “get out of the building for a while each day made it easier for me to be at school,” he said.
“Root 2 Rise also looks good on my resume,” he said. Ja’Nell is now a caretaker in a retirement facility and plans to attend college next year to become a cardiovascular X-ray technician.
