{"id":13613,"date":"2026-06-08T07:45:05","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T12:45:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/?post_type=campus_story&p=13613"},"modified":"2026-06-08T07:45:05","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T12:45:05","slug":"investing-in-future-leaders-uwl-students-honor-samuel-scinta-as-higher-education-advocate-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"campus_story","link":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/story\/investing-in-future-leaders-uwl-students-honor-samuel-scinta-as-higher-education-advocate-of-the-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Investing in future leaders: UWL students honor\u00a0Samuel Scinta\u00a0as\u00a0Higher Education Advocate of the Year"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Photo:<\/a>
Samuel Scinta, political science instructor and CEO of the La Crosse Area Chamber of Commerce, was named the 2025-26 Higher Education Advocate of the Year by the UW-La Crosse Student Association.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Over the past 18 years, Samuel Scinta has worked in a variety of community settings \u2014 running a small business, creating an educational nonprofit, teaching at two universities and leading civic engagement efforts.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through it all, Scinta<\/a> has focused on strengthening connections between education, civic engagement and community leadership. Now, that work has earned him recognition from the students he serves most directly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The UW-La Crosse Student Association<\/a> recently named Scinta its 2025-26 Higher Education Advocate of the Year, honoring his contributions to civic education, student advocacy and community collaboration throughout the La Crosse area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scinta, who serves as both a political science<\/a> instructor at UWL and CEO of the La Crosse Area Chamber of Commerce<\/a>, says the recognition was unexpected. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was very surprised and honored when I learned of the award,\u201d Scinta says. \u201cIt is always a humbling experience to receive recognition for one’s work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While he says awards are never his motivation, this recognition carried special significance because it came from students. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs I noted in my acceptance speech, I am simply doing the work I am able to do, as each of us should do in our civic lives,\u201d Scinta says. \u201cThis award was especially meaningful as it came from the students. It means the work I have been doing has had a positive impact on them.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Student Association President Emma Wittman says Scinta\u2019s influence extends beyond the classroom. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFrom fostering civil dialogue through the \u2018Rebuilding American Civics\u2019 program to bridging the gap between UWL students and community foundations, Sam Scinta\u2019s work has been instrumental in strengthening the social capital and educational landscape of the entire La Crosse area,\u201d Wittman says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his role with the Chamber, Scinta says promoting higher education is part of the organization\u2019s everyday mission. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne of the main civic roles of the Chamber is to be an initiator of collaboration in the community,\u201d Scinta explains. \u201cThe fact that we have three outstanding and unique institutions of higher education in our community is an incredible asset, and it is our job to connect these institutions to the business community where needed, and to advocate for these institutions in ways that help our community grow.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That work takes many forms, from creating partnerships between colleges and businesses to developing opportunities that encourage students to stay in the region after graduation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One recent example involved helping UWL and Western Technical College join the Corn Belt Ports Rural Logistics & Maritime Training & Education Consortium<\/a>, creating new pathways for students interested in maritime careers while supporting regional economic development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy 16 years as an adjunct instructor at UWL have allowed me to connect with students, to learn about their vision for the community and the future, to better understand their expectations of the generations that preceded them, and to identify the areas of possible opportunity,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One classroom moment in particular reinforced the importance of building stronger bridges between students and the business community. Shortly after becoming Chamber CEO, Scinta asked students in an evening pre-law<\/a> course whether they would be willing to remain in La Crosse for their careers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNone of them raised their hands,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Scinta says strengthening connections between students and the local business community is key to encouraging more graduates to build their futures in the La Crosse area.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The students, he learned, enjoyed the community but believed there were limited career opportunities available locally. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNow, as the Chamber CEO, I know there are jobs in a variety of fields available,\u201d Scinta says. \u201cThe issue is that the students did not know the breadth and depth of our local business community, and so building a bridge between these worlds became a priority.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Underlying all of Scinta\u2019s work is a philosophy of stewardship \u2014 the belief that communities grow stronger when people invest in future generations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf we truly believe in this stewardship ethic, it naturally follows that we need to consistently invest in those generations that follow us \u2014 in their leadership, in ensuring that our communities are growing and thriving,\u201d Scinta says. \u201cWe have to provide opportunities and mentorship.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He sees teaching as one of the most important ways he can contribute. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI learned many years ago that I have a skill in teaching and communicating,\u201d Scinta says. \u201cI need to use this skill to work with young people to learn, to make them feel included and to hopefully inspire them.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Scinta, that work is far from over. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI will always do my best to improve the intellectual lives of young people in our community, regardless of their paths, in any way I am able,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd I will always fight to ensure young people have a place at the table, as they deserve nothing less.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Written by UW-La Crosse University Marketing & Communications<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Link to original story: https:\/\/www.uwlax.edu\/news\/posts\/investing-in-future-leaders\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Over the past 18 years, Samuel Scinta has worked in a variety of community settings \u2014 running a small business, creating an educational nonprofit, teaching at two universities and leading civic engagement efforts.   Through it all, Scinta has focused on strengthening connections between education, civic engagement and community leadership. Now, that work has earned him recognition from the students he serves most directly.  […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":13614,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","institution":[],"story_category":[147,148],"class_list":["post-13613","campus_story","type-campus_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","story_category-community","story_category-economy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story\/13613","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=13613"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13614"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"institution","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/institution?post=13613"},{"taxonomy":"story_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story_category?post=13613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}