Committing to the Waukesha Community: Melissa Wegner

"Having worked with the community as an interpreter and educator, I’m excited to dive into this role to increase visibility of the campus and embed us into the City of Waukesha." -- Melissa Wegner, Community and Campus Relations manager

If you did not know WCTC has a campus in Waukesha, you’re not alone. Sitting across from the YMCA, the College’s Waukesha Campus is an often-overlooked resource. To the College’s leadership, this is a problem. So, how do you fix it?

Enter Melissa Wegner, WCTC’s dynamic new manager of Community and Campus Relations. Wegner is a nationally certified medical interpreter and former Milwaukee Public Schools’ bilingual teacher who runs her own business helping companies overcome language barriers. She has a master’s degree in teaching. Plus, she graduated from WCTC’s Spanish Medical Interpreter program before returning to be a coordinator and adjunct instructor for the program.

Combine all that with her membership on the boards of directors for the Lake Area Free Clinic and the Midwest Association of Translators and Interpreters, and it is clear that Wegner is a great fit for the role.

"Community engagement, outreach, education and really taking stock of how we can best serve others has been my focus for my entire career. And this position is the perfect culmination of all of that," Wegner said. "Having worked with the community as an interpreter and educator, I’m excited to dive into this role to increase visibility of the campus and embed us into the City of Waukesha — to double down on our commitment to residents by building partnerships and programming that directly meets needs of the community."

The Waukesha facility has suffered from a lack of attention. But it has so much potential to serve the city and its communities. The WCTC Dental Hygiene Clinic, where students provide affordable dental hygiene care for community members, serves as proof that the campus can be a public good.

Getting the most out of such a promising resource is where Wegner’s thoughtful leadership comes into play.

Step one for Wegner was bringing access to many of the same services that are offered at WCTC's Pewaukee location by staffing the front desk with team members from Ollie’s Compass — a centralized student resource hub.

"Students now have the ability to get connected with resources, register for classes and even print their ID card," Wegner said. "These things sound simple, but in the past, students would’ve had to make an additional trip to our Pewaukee Campus to do them. Transportation and time are barriers for students. By offering these services here, we make education that much more accessible for the community."

Combined with the addition of an Ollie’s Market student snack shop that mirrors the one on the Pewaukee Campus, the student experience is already improving. The ultimate goal for Wegner is to establish the WCTC Waukesha Campus as a pillar of both the community and the College. That means more courses on campus, more learning opportunities for the public, more services and more students.

Wegner’s job is to find out what is needed, what is wanted and how to make it happen.