“I like the activities that the community advisors facilitate and the wide variety of personalities present here,” Schwanda said. “Everyone knows everyone else to some degree. It’s like a big family and is an easy way to make friends. When I was a freshman, I really only knew my roommate [in the beginning] so being able to form that family structure was an important way to ease into college life.”

A social bridge

Promoting social interaction between students is something emphasized by the staff of Marathon Hall. “We help facilitate friendships,” said Kristine McCaslin, director of UWMC Auxiliary Services. “We provide an environment for students to interact with and to communicate with each other, and this also helps in learning about conflict resolution.” She added that Marathon Hall provides students with “a bridge from living at home in high school to being an adult,” allowing them to try things on their own while having “some guiding hands”.

One of the advantages of the on-site residence hall is that UWMC can attract students from outside the local area. “This opens up the world to us,” noted McCaslin. “We have approximately 20 international students living in our hall, which brings cultural diversity to the campus and to Wausau.

Marathon Hall provides living space for 160 students in double rooms.

The direct connection to the university allows the Auxiliary Services department to handle many expenses internally. For example, Auxiliary Services maintains residency contracts, financial management, upholding codes of conduct and programming for student activities. This provides an advantage to the students, giving UWMC students cost savings.

“The cost of residency can be paid for by a student’s financial aid,” said McCaslin. “Unlike the other two-year schools with campuses, we have a full meal program. Students don’t have to worry about groceries. They don’t have to worry about paying rent, gas and electric, extras such as cable bills and Internet access. These expenses are already built into the room and board fee.”

Another advantage is savings on transportation. “I’m just a short walk from all of my classes,” Schwanda explained. “School resources are all right there. The convenience of being so close allows me to get down to studying right away. Plus, if there are other students taking the same courses, study sessions are easy to organize.”

Sense of community

Students hanging out in the Marathon Hall game room.

The social atmosphere in Marathon Hall includes programs and activities, which occur on a weekly basis. “Some people might not realize the extent of activities we do,” stated Schwanda. “These can range from tie-dying shirts to football parties and cook outs.” It is that sense of community in Marathon Hall that, according to McCaslin, provides additional advantages to hall residents.

To reinforce that sense of community, there is always someone available regardless of situations in which students may find themselves. “We have someone ‘on call’ 24/7,” McCaslin said, “so the students are never alone if they’re having a crisis, or something happens or they’re just really excited. There’s always somebody to talk to.”

Marathon Hall is not only as an asset for UWMC but for the Wausau area, too, McCaslin said. “Our staff will plan a community service project and determine what agency or organization with which they want to collaborate,” she explained. “Then they’ll raise the money or they’ll raise the needed products for whatever the project might be. The students will do the work and then we’ll bring it to the organization. In the past, we’ve gone to nursing homes and we’ve made cards for soldiers overseas.”

Find out more about Marathon Hall.

Cerebral palsy appears in infancy or early childhood and permanently affects body movement and muscle coordination. Clausen was diagnosed with it at age three. Since then, he has undergone more than 10 surgeries to straighten his feet, ankles and legs to relieve pain and to improve his ability to walk. He also wears leg braces for better balance and coordination and wheels his way around the UWMC campus with the help of a rolling walker.

Tyler Clausen

While his disability limits some of the things he can do physically, Clausen doesn’t let it get in the way of pursuing his academic and career dreams. “My philosophy is: ‘The sky is the limit,’” said the 2010 Mosinee High School graduate. He credits his grandfather, Rich Ciesielski, for developing his positive mindset. “In teaching me the game of golf, my grandpa instilled in me that I could do anything if I put effort into it,” said Clausen, whose father died when he was five years old.

“When I was younger, I felt I had limits as to what I could do. As I got older, I learned what my abilities were so I set bigger academic goals for myself,” explained Clausen who earned A’s and B’s in high school. “I look at my disability as a strength that really is a tool for pushing me further.”

His biggest inspiration

The person who helped Clausen recognize his scholastic and musical abilities and served as motivation for his vocational dreams was Carla Dul, his high school choral director. “She had such a positive attitude. She was my biggest inspiration,” said Clausen, who sang in the school choir and participated in a variety show, after receiving encouragement from Dul.

Now in his second semester at UWMC, Clausen eventually plans to transfer to UW-Stevens Point or UW-Eau Claire to pursue a degree in music education. “I saw how Carla really loved what she did. It was like ‘Wow! I want to do this, too.’ By teaching, I will be able to share my love of music with my students and help them help sing and perform to their strengths and abilities.”

The reputation of the music department is what attracted Clausen to UWMC. In the short time he has been at the university, he has been impressed by the passion for music shown by his instructors along with the personal support he and other students receive from them.

“When I first came here, it was special to get voice lessons from professor (William) Day during his last semester of teaching,” Clausen said. “And now, with the help of Tim Buchholz, I’m improving my musicality. He really wants his students to succeed and is very encouraging.”

Buchholz’s respect for Clausen is reciprocal. “Tyler is a hard-working student who is always enthusiastic and eager to learn,” said Buchholz. “He has a keen musical ear, and other music students admire how he does not let his physical disability get in the way of achieving his goals. It’s a pleasure to have him in my classes and ensembles.”

Music serves as physical therapy

Having been involved in music since he was a teenager has had more than emotional and esteem-building benefits for Clausen. Piano and voice lessons have served as a form of physical therapy for him because cerebral palsy often causes extreme and sometimes debilitating muscle tightness in people who have it. “Playing the piano has improved the flexibility in my hands and fingers,” he noted. “The muscles in my chest are very tight, too, so singing has improved the strength of my speaking voice.”

Clausen said he made the right choice when he decided to start his college education at UWMC. “The atmosphere is very welcoming,” said Clausen, who is taking 17 credits this semester and also participates in the campus-based Discipleship for Christians. “The environment and staff are very helpful so all students can achieve their life and career goals. I’m really grateful that people can see that I can participate in different ways and not be excluded because of my disability.”

On campus Weiks has the support of both the faculty and the staff. “I've had professors come up to me and say, 'Oh, I've seen you on TV. How are you?'” Weiks explains. The news coverage came in late September when the UWMC Women's Volleyball team held an awareness event, called “Recycle Life”, prior to one of its games.

Co-captain Dana Pieczynski learned about organ donation through Weiks and brought it to the attention of her team. “All of us decided we wanted to raise awareness to a different issue this year,” notes Pieczynski. “Knowing Darin, we thought it would be good to raise awareness about something that has impacted all of us.”

Weiks has spent time in the Student Union Hall during lunch handing out free items with a former UWMC student to raise donor awareness. However, most of the time he is attending classes. Currently, he finds his chemistry and child development classes to be particularly good because of the way they are taught by the professors. “They make it interesting,” Weiks says. “You learn quite a bit.”

Weiks is a positive influence at UWMC. “Darin is awesome all around,” says Pieczynski. “To be honest, I've never heard anyone have anything negative to say about him. Once people know and understand his background and all that he’s been through, it’s hard for anyone not to absolutely fall in love with his story and the challenges his family has faced.”

In his motivation to become a pediatrician, Weiks says UWMC is giving him the right “building blocks” to start his college years. “It's just like a high school in the fact that you know a lot of people. I like that aspect of this campus. It's a good experience to come here and get your 'two years' done in a challenging environment and then transfer to a four-year university where the curriculum might be comparable to what you'd expect here.”