Alumni forging meaningful paths.
by Fabiola M. Martinez Del Valle
We are excited to highlight the recipients of the Early Career Alumni Award. This award recognizes graduates who have demonstrated exceptional success within the first ten years after earning their degree. This year’s honorees have forged an impressive path, demonstrating the many ways an English degree can spark professional growth, creativity, and community impact.
Madeline Heim
Madeline Heim reports on public health and environmental issues for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. A Wisconsin native and 2018 graduate with degrees in Journalism and English, Heim has built a career centered on public‑interest reporting. Before joining the Journal Sentinel, she covered the Mississippi River and western Wisconsin as a Report for America corps member and led statewide COVID‑19 coverage for the USA TODAY Network in Wisconsin. Her work has earned recognition from the Wisconsin Newspaper Association, Milwaukee Press Club, Covering Climate Now, North American Agricultural Journalists, and the National Headliner Awards. Heim’s career reflects the power of clear, rigorous writing and the civic responsibility at the heart of her English education.
Emma Ross (Palasz)
Emma Ross (Palasz) develops thought leadership content for key industries at Grant Thornton, a global professional services firm. She also leads content strategy for the firm’s community impact and employer brand initiatives. Prior to Grant Thornton, Ross held communications roles across higher education and nonprofit sectors, including the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, a boutique marketing and PR agency serving social‑impact clients, and Weber Shandwick. She has also worked as a freelance grant writer. A UW–Madison alum with degrees in Journalism & Mass Communications and English (Creative Writing emphasis), Ross began her writing career at The Badger Herald and through reporting internships at WisPolitics and PBS Wisconsin. Her path shows how an English degree can support versatile, mission‑driven communication work across industries.
Meghan Villalpando
Meghan Villalpando is a commercial litigator at Husch Blackwell LLP, representing clients in complex, multi‑million‑dollar disputes in state and federal courts nationwide. A double Badger, Villalpando earned her J.D. from UW Law School in 2022, graduating first in her class, summa cum laude, and serving as a Note & Comment Editor for the Wisconsin Law Review. She began her UW journey in the English Department, earning her B.A. in English in 2016, where she was a Writing Fellow and Co‑President of the Madison Undergraduate Society for English. Villalpando carries the Wisconsin Idea forward through mentorship in the Honorable Charles N. Clevert, Jr. Mentoring Program and service on the State Bar of Wisconsin’s Diversity and Inclusion Oversight Committee and the Board of the Wisconsin Hispanic Lawyers Association. Her career demonstrates how an English degree can lead to rigorous legal thinking, community engagement, and leadership.