Freshman Belle May Williams will be attending her first leg of the University of Wisconsin Madison Information Technology Academy this summer.

Williams found out about this program through the Oneida Nation paper and seeing a recruiter at the Oneida Nation offices.

This program is a pre-college program to encourage increased enrollment from diverse students at UW Madison. Students from Madison, Lac du Flambeau and Oneida are eligible for this program and 15 students are accepted each year.

ITA helps high school students build knowledge with hands-on training, academic support, mentoring, leadership development, community service and leadership opportunities.

“I really look forward to being in a program with students who have similar interests and goals. The experience will also help prepare me for college,” Williams said.

The program is a three-year experience. Incoming sophomores and juniors spend three days on the UW Madison campus with mentors, and incoming seniors spend a week on the campus. These students also complete work and activities off campus throughout the year.

In order to be accepted into the program, Williams had to complete an application complete with a letter of recommendation from, in this case, her Freshman Honors English teacher Carolyn Brown.

After her application was received, she was called in for an interview where she answered questions in front of a three-person panel.

When the interview was completed, she received the good news that she had been accepted into this very selective program.

“I’m interested in technology, and I really like the idea of getting help preparing for the ACT and with college applications,” she said.