A UW-Madison alumna who became a “social entrepreneur” in India after a year abroad will deliver the winter commencement speech, according to a Wednesday university press release.
Zoë Timms, who graduated from UW-Madison in 1997, drew from her experiences in India when she returned years later to work for UW-Madison’s Year in India program in Madurai, Tamil Nadu.
There, she met impoverished young women whose situations affected their education, according to the release. To respond to this problem, Timms founded the Women’s Education Project in 2002.
WEP is a program that provides scholarships, academic support and resources for the kinds of women Timms wanted to help, allowing them to graduate high school or college and advance their careers.
The program has helped more than 500 women graduate and currently has 280 students. Past students have gone on to work in a variety of professional positions.
Timms said in the release she relates to the apprehension new graduates have after school ends. She emphasized, however, that whatever a person goes on to do should be enjoyable.
“I think the key to being successful is finding your supporters,” Timms said in the release. “Not everybody is going to start a nonprofit in India. But whatever you do, you can make it rewarding for yourself.”
