{"id":13249,"date":"2025-12-23T08:13:06","date_gmt":"2025-12-23T14:13:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin-new\/?post_type=campus_story&p=13249"},"modified":"2025-12-23T08:16:18","modified_gmt":"2025-12-23T14:16:18","slug":"from-isolation-to-impact-james-harris-unstoppable-climb-toward-purpose-and-civic-leadership","status":"publish","type":"campus_story","link":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/story\/from-isolation-to-impact-james-harris-unstoppable-climb-toward-purpose-and-civic-leadership\/","title":{"rendered":"From Isolation to Impact: James Harris\u2019 unstoppable climb toward purpose and civic leadership"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Photo<\/a>
James Harris was a 2025 Student Commencement Speaker for UW-Green Bay’s ceremony held on December 13, 2025.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

College is often described as a journey, but for James Harris, a mountain climb may be more accurate. He arrived at UW-Green Bay unsure of his footing or his future. \u201cI didn\u2019t take the straight route here,\u201d he says, \u201cbut I learned more about myself\u2014and the world\u2014because of it.\u201d With support from mentors and classmates who recognized his potential, he began finding the footholds that would lift him higher.<\/p>\n

His progress speaks for itself. Harris is graduating with a 4.0 GPA, a\u00a0Democracy and Justice Studies<\/a>\u00a0(DJS) degree, a TEDx talk, and an exceptional record of undergraduate research\u2014ranging from an independent study on colonial social control mechanisms, to co-authored work in the Political Science Research Lab analyzing support for conspiracy theories, to a senior capstone project on the philosophy of equitable education that he presented at UWGB\u2019s Academic Excellence Symposium. Faculty describe him as \u201ca rare blend of intellectual rigor, compassion, and civic purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n

Faculty who have written nominations on his behalf often remark on the pace of his growth\u2014how, once given space to thrive, he rose with confidence and brought depth, humility and a steady, thoughtful curiosity to every academic setting.<\/p>\n

From Homeschooling and Hardship to Academic Excellence<\/h3>\n

Those accomplishments take on deeper meaning when set against the challenges of his upbringing. Harris grew up in a homeschooled household largely closed off from mainstream culture. With no cable, internet or news, the family\u2019s world centered on a small collection of homemade instructional tapes. \u201cI was isolated in homeschooling,\u201d he recalls. \u201cI had no social skills. I didn\u2019t understand how to interact with people.\u201d<\/p>\n

His father\u2019s worldview\u2014firm, skeptical of outside influence and shaped by deeply held convictions\u2014meant the family\u2019s engagement with the broader world was limited. As Harris grew older, those boundaries became something he had to navigate consciously, learning to seek out perspectives beyond the ones he\u2019d been raised with. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t that my dad was trying to be harsh,\u201d he says. \u201cHe just saw the world a certain way, and I was raised inside that perspective. As I got older, I realized I wanted to understand more than one way of seeing things. That became a big motivator for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Turning Setbacks into Strength: A Journey Through Adversity and Resilience<\/h3>\n

When Harris eventually entered a small public school, the shift was overwhelming. After years of isolation and structure, he found himself unprepared for the noise, pace and expectations of a traditional classroom. \u201cIt was like jumping into a moving river,\u201d he says. \u201cI didn\u2019t know how to swim, and I made a lot of bad choices trying to stay afloat.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marrying young and becoming a father before he felt ready added pressure to an already uncertain path. The burden of supporting a family while trying to make sense of an unfamiliar world intensified the instability, eventually leading to jail. Harris speaks of that experience not with shame but with clarity. It was, he says, \u201cthe moment where I had to decide if I wanted to keep living the life I was handed or start building one I chose.\u201d<\/p>\n

How Democracy and Justice Studies Sparked Transformation<\/h3>\n

After his release, he rebuilt with intention. Working factory jobs helped him regain direction. Surrounded by production lines and industrial machinery, he discovered a place where effort translated into trust. \u201cIt was the first place I felt like I could do something well,\u201d he says. \u201cI showed up, worked hard and people trusted me.\u201d That reliability awakened something deeper: a curiosity not just about how the machines worked, but about the systems and people behind them.<\/p>\n

Technical college revealed a natural aptitude for mathematics and problem-solving. For the first time, school made sense. Yet even as he succeeded, he sensed he was meant for something more. \u201cI realized I didn\u2019t just want to understand machines\u2014I wanted to understand people, systems, the bigger picture.\u201d<\/p>\n

He first enrolled at UW-Green Bay to pursue mechanical engineering \u2013 a practical, stable path. But a required Democracy and Justice Studies elective changed everything. What he expected to be just another class instead offered a way to understand the world he came from and the communities he wanted to help shape. \u201cEngineering taught me how systems work,\u201d Harris says. \u201cDJS taught me why people and systems behave the way they do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"UW-Green
UW-Green Bay Commencement Speaker James Harris<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Once he declared his major, Harris excelled in ways that surprised even him. His academic precision, dialogue-driven mindset and ability to engage divergent perspectives made him a standout in classrooms, research labs and public forums. His accomplishments span more than 20 major contributions in research, leadership and civic engagement\u2014from national conferences and Model EU participation to organizing a major policy panel on conversion therapy. As a TEDx speaker, he delivered \u201cFrom Extremist to Activist,\u201d illuminating his transformation with clarity and conviction.<\/p>\n

His work in civic engagement drew praise across campus. Ashley Heath, director of\u00a0UW-Green Bay\u2019s Center for Civic Engagement<\/a>, notes, \u201cJames isn\u2019t just involved\u2014he\u2019s deeply invested in making change and he brings others along with him.\u201d His leadership extended into Bridging the Divide, where he helped facilitate conversations among students with widely differing viewpoints\u2014listening without judgment and challenging without hostility.<\/p>\n

Looking Ahead: Policy, Advocacy and Inspiring the Next Generation<\/h3>\n

As graduation nears, Harris plans to continue his education and pursue work in public policy, communication or community advocacy. He hopes to reach anyone who has doubted their place in higher education. \u201cThe hardest days are usually the ones that teach you the most,\u201d he says. \u201cCollege isn\u2019t about perfection\u2014it\u2019s about showing up and choosing who you want to become.\u201d<\/p>\n

For a student who once feared he\u2019d never find direction, the momentum is unmistakable\u2014and his path forward is unmistakably upward.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Written by Michael Shaw | Photos by Dan Moore, University Photographer<\/p>\n

Link to original story:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

College is often described as a journey, but for James Harris, a mountain climb may be more accurate. He arrived at UW-Green Bay unsure of his footing or his future. \u201cI didn\u2019t take the straight route here,\u201d he says, \u201cbut I learned more about myself\u2014and the world\u2014because of it.\u201d With support from mentors and classmates […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":11682,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","institution":[111],"story_category":[147],"class_list":["post-13249","campus_story","type-campus_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","institution-uw-green-bay","story_category-community"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story\/13249","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/campus_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13249"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11682"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"institution","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/institution?post=13249"},{"taxonomy":"story_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story_category?post=13249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}