Whether you’re in a lecture hall, library, or coffee shop, odds are: You have a transfer student in your midst. In fact, one in five UW–Madison students have transferred to our university.
However, this identity is often tricky to spot. And, for some students, the answer isn’t all that clear. Take Miguel Pingol, a 29-year-old military veteran who arrived at UW–Madison in fall 2023.
Missing a clear sense of direction, Pingol spent his junior year of high school half-heartedly applying to colleges. However, when a classmate invited him to visit the military recruiting office, he found the opportunity to take a different path: one that would allow him to pay for college, discover his true calling, and explore an idea of “service” he found himself increasingly drawn to.
After a four-year contract turned 10-year career, Pingol separated from the military in December of 2022. While he accumulated enough credits (plus professional work history) to go directly into the workforce, he stayed set on returning to school.
Still, as soon as he started the application process, Pingol began to wonder if “transfer student” really applied to him.
“I didn’t consider that I had even been a college student,” Pingol said.
Before accepting his UW–Madison admissions offer, Pingol attended an Admitted Transfer Student Day session and the accompanying campus resource fair. There, he discovered the wide variety of events and support offered by the Transfer Transition Program (TTP), including the Returning Adult Student Lunches held in the Transfer Engagement Center (TEC).
After attending TTP events regularly throughout his first year, Pingol felt comfortable rooting himself deeper in the campus community. In just two short years, he’s become the Hoofer Outing Club’s Trail Running Activity Leader, Vice President of Student Veterans UW–Madison, and a Teaching Fellow for the “Wisconsin Experience” seminar (CP-125). Not to mention, Pingol was recognized as “Transfer Student of the Year” at the 2024 Bucky Awards.
While Pingol’s “pre-college” life certainly looked different than a traditional student’s, he’s found value in connecting with fellow second-year students. Now, rather than feeling the need to qualify his identity as a “second year undergraduate student,” he simply identifies as a sophomore.
“[My experience before UW–Madison] will always be a part of me, but I acknowledge that there’s so many other aspects of my life to explore.”
In terms of what’s next for Pingol, he’s focused on reintegrating the sense of service he cultivated in the military – and as a wildlife firefighter – into a career in computer science. He’s planning to expand on his experience in military intelligence by exploring graduate school and careers in the public sector or research. Look for him on a future graduation stage, proudly standing next to his fellow Badgers as a member of the Class of 2027!
National Transfer Student Week (October 21-25, 2024) is a nationwide initiative organized by the National Institute for the Study of Transfer Students (NISTS) and hosted on campus by the Transfer Transition Program (TTP). Each year, during the third week in October, NTSW aims to celebrate the transfer student experience and the professionals who support them, as well as enhance institutional support for transfer students.
Find events and other ways to celebrate NTSW 2024 at transfer.wisc.edu/ntsw.