Raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Joseph Evica attended Hamilton High School where the graduation rate is 60 percent and where he was an indifferent student. In his junior year, Evica realized education was the key to his future and to the service opportunities that are important to him. He buckled down and improved enough to be wait-listed at University of Wisconsin-Madison.
He earned a 4.0 grade point average (GPA) his freshman year at UW-Milwaukee and transferred to UW-Madison declaring a double major in psychology and sociology. Evica’s current GPA is 3.85, and he was named a McNair Scholar. The program prepares academically successful students—who are from underrepresented groups or are first-generation college students with financial need—for doctoral studies.
Evica’s commitment to community service began at 9, when he finished a “Walk for Arthritis” in honor of his mother. More recently, he’s tutored Madison fourth graders in math through the Schools of Hope Program and is active on campus organizing students around diversity, racism and inclusiveness; the environment, politics and education. His honors program thesis examines and looks at ways to improve the relationship between the Milwaukee Police Department and residents.