Locally Grown Scholarships and Breakfast

Locally Grown Scholarships

Students completing SSP are eligible to apply for up to four Locally Grown Scholarships in their early semesters in college. The scholarships support SSP graduates who attend UWL, Viterbo, Western and other selected schools. Students must be enrolled at least part time and in good-standing. The scholarships range from $350 to $1000/semester.

Each fall, SSP friends are invited make a donation to SSP and attend the Locally Grown Scholarship Breakfast. The event features an inspiring message, recognizes SSP graduates now attending college, and gathers SSP donors and friends to say 'thank you'. It is a heart-warming affirmation of the power of education to change lives, often two generations at a time!

Locally Grown Scholarship Breakfast
October 30, 2025

2025 SSP Breakfast Speaker, Xia Yang (former SSP Student)

Courage and Encouragement

In 2016, Xia Yang, a mother of six, completed SSP. She enrolled in UWL as a transfer student and education major. What does it take for a parenting student to persist through immense challenges? Xia offers her responses in a SSP scholarship essay, “When I think of giving up, the scholarships give me a reason and encouragement to keep going.” In another, she summarizes, “It takes a lot of courage and encouragement for me to keep moving forward.” In December 2020, Xia earned her degree.

A simple, yet potent statement appears in each of Xia’s SSP scholarship essays, “I envision myself five years from now in front of a classroom as a teacher.” In August 2021, Xia was hired to teach at Northside Elementary School in La Crosse where she continues as a teacher of first grade.

Xia-Yang, 2025 SSP Breakfast SpeakerXia Yang is a wife and mother to a family of 10 consisting of her husband, Kou Vue and nine children (seven are boys and two girls). Aside from being a wife and a mother, she is a First Grade teacher at Northside Elementary for the School District of La Crosse. Kindergarten and Fourth Grade are previous grades she has taught.

She earned her Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood/Middle Childhood Education at the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse. Recently, she completed and earned her Reading Licensure from Viterbo University.

When Xia is not teaching, she enjoys traveling and spending time with her family. She has done several road trips to California and has driven the other way to North Carolina. Aside from traveling, she is determined and continues to be a lifelong learner. She will take any chance she gets to grow herself to become better, so she can help plant the seeds in the little minds of her students.

Enjoy a delicious breakfast and inspiring stories, as we celebrate SSP students and this community of support. Together we affirm the power of education, the dreams we hold and the dreams we share.

Register online for this free event. Please RSVP by October 16, 2025.

Questions, please contact Susanne Koehler at 608.633.3501 or skoehler@uwlax.edu.

Thursday, October 30, 2025  |  7:30-9 a.m.
The Bluffs Ballroom, Student Union, UWL

Everyone is invited! Enjoy a delicious breakfast and inspiring stories as we jrecognize the accomplishments of student parents and SSP graduates attending our area colleges. Your support and encouragement make such a difference for these tenacious students, and SSP. Together we affirm the power of education, the dreams we hold and the dreams we share. Children are welcome to attend.

Please visit our calendar page for the most updated information.

For questions about this event, or to request disability accommodations, contact:

• Susanne Koehler at 608.633.3501 or skoehler@uwlax.edu
• Alec Lass at 608.785.8357 or rgss@uwlax.edu

Parking is free for registrants at the UWL Parking Ramp (levels 1-3), 1623 Farwell St., La Crosse, WI. A volunteer will be onsite to register vehicles. An online parking registration link will be provided to registrants who wish to register for parking before the event.

Handicap Parking
You can park in the handicap spaces in Commuter Lot C-12 at the Cleary Center if you have a handicap hanger or license plate. Also a number of handicap parking spaces are on Farwell Street across from the Student Union.