Campus Connection

This year’s event adds Friday concert, features Lynyrd Skynyrd as top Saturday act

[caption id="attachment_5499" align="aligncenter" width="685"] In 2013, Freedom Fest in Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex featured the popular rock group, Chicago.[/caption] The popular summer concert event on campus has expanded to a second evening as it continues to help more UW System students. The 9th Annual Freedom Fest at Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex is set for a two-night run this year. The new, Friday night concert set for July 15 features the La Crosse Symphony Orchestra. Saturday, July 16, will feature performances by The Remainders, O.A.R. and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Tickets are $40, $50 and $60 for general admission; $70 for lawn seating; $150 for VIP and $195 for front row VIP. Get complete details at FreedomFestLaCrosse.com. Freedom Fest has grown from 1,200 attendees in 2008 to more than 6,000 in recent years. All proceeds benefit veterans’ causes, including a scholarship fund for veterans who wish to further their education at any UW System school or Viterbo University. Freedom Fest was created as a day of celebration, reflection and honor for those who serve. It’s one simple way to show support for those who have sacrificed for the country’s freedom. Over the years, the annual event has raised more than $425,000 for veterans’ causes. UWL student scholar inspired by service in El Salvador When Danielle DuFoe went to El Tamarindo, El Salvador, with her National Guard unit, she didn’t know she would be laying the foundation for her life’s work. But while members of her unit built schools and bathrooms, the medic was asked to serve elsewhere — offering medical support to locals. “Since I was the medic, I was able to spend a lot of time with the locals,” DuFoe explains. “There were two different sites where I spent most of my time and I would play with the kids. They loved the gummy bears I brought out.” [caption id="attachment_5501" align="alignleft" width="300"] While in El Salvador with her National Guard unit, UWL student Danielle DuFoe served as a medic.[/caption] While in El Salvador, the UWL student says she got to know the locals and became friends with them. “It was nice to see how they lived their lives,” she says. “It was pretty much the greatest experience of my life.” DuFoe enlisted in the National Guard in March 2007, with encouragement from her mother. “I knew I was physically fit and could do it,” DuFoe says. “And my Mom told me I like structure and organization, and I needed to pay for college. So on Friday, I walked up to my recruiter, who was a family friend and said, ‘So can you get me in the military? Can you make me a medic?’ And by Monday I was in the military.” DuFoe hasn’t looked back. Now in her eighth year as a medic, her time in Central America has inspired her career goals. And her service helped her land two scholarships funded through Freedom Fest held each summer at UWL. DuFoe is pursuing physical therapy through an ESS (exercise sport science) pre-professional major and anthropology. “I hope to go active duty as a commissioned officer and practice physical therapy in a hospital like Walter Reed, to take care of our soldiers as they are returning to live stateside,” she explained in her scholarship essay. “My back-up plan, in case the Army decides something else for me, is to work at the VA (Veterans Affairs) and care for those that served our country.” [caption id="attachment_5502" align="alignright" width="300"] UWL student Danielle DuFoe enjoyed getting to know the locals in El Tamarindo, El Salvador, while serving in the National Guard.[/caption] In addition, DuFoe hopes to continue to serve the underserved, like she did in El Salvador. “As soon as I get a chance and I am able to take some time off from work for a while, I would like to do Doctors Without Borders, (a non-profit offering international medical aid), and help people who need help and don’t have the money for it,” she says. “To be able to learn about other people — it’s a fantastic opportunity that you get when you are part of a group like the military. You learn about people and different cultures. And you learn just because it’s different, doesn’t mean it’s bad.” In 2015-16, DuFoe served as vice president of the UWL Student Veterans Association, which assists veterans in their transition from the military to student life. She is grateful to the community for all of its support. “Because of the community, in general, we’ve been able to have a very successful club, and that allows us to give back too,” she says. Scholarship success The Donald P. Weber Scholarship Fund was established by Donald J. Weber, founder and CEO of LHI in La Crosse, in honor of his father, Donald P. Weber. Donald P. served in the military and was a prisoner of war in World War II. The scholarship named in his honor is intended to assist veterans who return home from active duty and wish to further their education at a UW school. Now in its fifth year, the Donald P. Weber scholarships, each totaling $2,000, have been awarded to nine recipients for 2015-16, all of whom are enrolled in a UW System school of their choice. Along with the Weber scholarships, those awarded in honor of Colonel Edwin L. Overholt and Sgt. James J. Regan have funded $151,000 to UW students since Freedom Fest’s inception.