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Student from Crandon on track to graduate from UWSP at age most people are just starting college

UWSP student Madison Ackley
Isak Dinesen
/
WAOW Television
UWSP student Madison Ackley

It's not unusual to see 18-year-olds around the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, as they try to decide what they do after high school.

However, in the case of Madison Ackley, she took a much different path, as at 18 years old, she is on pace to become the youngest graduate the university has seen in the last 40 years, as well as the youngest female graduate ever, with a degree in accounting.

"Most of my friends are just getting done with high school, and I'm done with college already," Ackley said.

She had graduated from high school in Crandon early two years ago, and has taken in high class loads since to get to this point, sometimes going as high as 21 credits in a semester.

As it became known how old she was, Ackley recalls her classmates being shocked to know she wasn't the typical age of a college student.

"Nobody really knew for a long time how old I was," she said. "Everyone thought I was the same age as them, and they would have never guessed," she added.

Ackley says she keeps lists to stay organized, which allows for her to make time for herself in the middle of her responsibilities, which includes owning her own business as a permanent makeup artist.

She adds she's been told she carries herself to a higher esteem than others at her age, as well as being told she has an old soul.

"That definitely developed over time, just being here, and just advancing so quickly, I feel like with that comes the confidence and ability to carry yourself like this," Ackley said.

Not only has she received great amounts of support from her family, she has a greater sense of pride which has guided her along, with roots as a member of the Sokaogan Chippewa tribe. She's also on pace to be the youngest student of Native American descent to earn a degree from UWSP.

"I think that I'll be able to be a role model and I can help younger kids do the same things and I hope that one of them will beat my record one day," Ackley said.

Some goals she has laid out for 2023 include going on a trip to Israel, go pursue her Master's degree, and start her job at KerberRose Accounting in Rhinelander. In the meantime, she also says she will be planning for her wedding in the short term and hopes to buy her grandparents' house long term.

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