Latin America
We have met other Badgers often as we frequently wear Badger shirts, caps, etc. The most unusual though, was in Costa Rica. We were on a canopy tour (involving 12 zip-line runs, two rappels, a “Tarzan” swing, and a narrow, one-person suspension bridge) in the rainforest there and met another family doing the same. As we became more familiar with each other, it came to light that not only were both couples and our kids Badgers, but myself and the father of the other family were on campus the same years, 1969–73. We all talked the tour crew and van driver into stopping at a small village’s “watering hole” and rather enjoyed each other’s company following the invigorating rain forest canopy.
Henry Zimmerman ’73
Burlington, Wisconsin
This summer I took my kids and grandkids to Costa Rica. Wearing my Wisconsin School of Business hat while hiking through a rainforest near the Arenal Volcano, a young man asked about my hat. He and his wife are recent Wisconsin grads living in New York. My Texan family was impressed!
Rick Cohen ’68, MBA’69
Ransom Canyon, Texas
Back in 2014, I took one month off to go to Peru! I chose to hike the Salkantay Trek: five amazing, reasonably tough days to Machu Picchu. I was flying solo on this trip to Peru, but was so fortunate to meet a ton of amazing folks. I joined a trekking tour group of 12 other people, of course — one of my fellow trekkers was a Badger! Graduated just a few years before me. I LOVE meeting fellow Badgers on my travels. No doubt that they will be kind, open, and fun people. Proud to rep UW–Madison where ever we are in the world!
Katie Lorenz ’12
Roselle, Illinois
At the Olympics in Rio last summer, I was riding the metro that traveled between venues. The train was full of people speaking Portuguese. Nearby was a guy, traveling alone, who looked out of place. (American, maybe Northern European?) I said something to him in English. Turns out we were on our way to the same venue to watch the same events. Turns out he was originally from Wisconsin. Also turns out he went to the UW and our tenures there overlapped! While we both are living in different parts of the U.S., we’ve since kept in touch. It’s a small world. Brought together and made even smaller by the UW.
Willie Holmberg ’89
Maple Grove, Minnesota
I was on a Caribbean cruise at sea on January 1, 2015. The bowl game between Wisconsin and Auburn was on ESPN International that day; so, I was able to watch the game from my stateroom. After the game, I was at the bar in the atrium of the ship. I was wearing a Wisconsin polo shirt. I looked over to the other side of the bar and saw a gentleman wearing a Wisconsin T-shirt about the same moment he saw me. We each gave each other a smile and a slight bow.
Jerry Alperstein ’64
New York
