Meet Sawyer Getschman, student speaker for Winter 2024 Commencement

Sawyer Getschman had never heard of the University of Wisconsin-Madison when she started turning her attention to prospective colleges. She was attending high school in Germany at the time due to her father's career as a U.S. Navy commander.

"Basically, I did a lot of research about how students felt about the university they were attending," says Getschman, who will be the student speaker this December for winter commencement. "UW-Madison had such a great reputation, and it also had one of the best East Asian language departments in the United States."

Getschman, who is earning a bachelor's degree in East Asian languages and cultures, has no regrets about choosing UW-Madison. That's part of the reason she applied to be the student commencement speaker.

" I loved every minute of being at Madison," she says. "I didn't want to pass up the opportunity to share that in public."

The student speaker is chosen through a competitive process conducted by the senior class officers, in consultation with the Office of the Chancellor. All winter graduates were eligible to apply. UW-Madison's Winter 2024 Commencement will take place at 10 a.m. on Sunday, Dec. 15 at the Kohl Center, 601 W. Dayton St.

Getschman was born in Corpus Christi, Texas, but quickly became a citizen of the world. Her father's job took the family to locales across the globe. During her youth, Getschman attended seven schools in four countries on three continents - including six years in Japan. (She is proud of having hiked to the top of Mount Fuji in Honshu, Japan, faster than her three older siblings.)

She graduated as salutatorian from a high school on a military base in the United Kingdom.

"It was challenging in some ways," Getschman says of being a military kid, "but it was the only life I ever knew. Looking back, I'm very grateful for getting to see so much of the world at a young age."

Getschman studied Japanese in high school and also fell in love with Korean culture. Those interests drew her to UW-Madison's East Asian languages program. In addition to her major, she is earning a certificate in teaching English to speakers of other languages.

At UW-Madison, Getschman has been a member of the Korean learning community and a Korean peer language tutor. Her junior year, she served as vice president of Korean Happy Hour, a club that provides opportunities for students to speak Korean outside of class. Her senior year, she studied abroad in South Korea.

"One of the great things about going to a big university like UW-Madison is that there are so many amazing opportunities," says Getschman, who intends to pursue her dream job of teaching English in South Korea. "I'm excited to share my experiences and represent my fellow classmates at winter commencement."

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