“We left everything behind to pursue our American dream,” Josephine Lorya says of her family’s harrowing journey from war-torn South Sudan to the United States. Now an award-winning social worker, multicultural performer, community organizer, and mother of four, Lorya fought hard to acquire what she calls a “passport to a new future” that once seemed unattainable.
Born into the Otuho tribe in South Sudan, Josephine Lorya survived great trauma. A catastrophic war event seriously injured her mother, leading to several years of separation. Following her mother’s recovery, the family escaped to Nairobi, Kenya, having to adapt to a new culture. They emigrated to the U.S. in 1996. A refugee torn between two continents, Lorya fought hard for higher education and a better life for herself and her family.
She remembers learning about the UW Odyssey Project from a customer in Madison. “My earliest memory of hearing about Odyssey was when I was working in a hair salon braiding. A customer knew how much I wanted to go back to school but also that I didn’t have the financial resources and that childcare was another barrier. When she told me about the Odyssey program, I thought this was just too good to be true. I could not imagine a program that would offer free college credits plus childcare on site and free dinner.”
Lorya was accepted into Odyssey, a jumpstart program in the humanities, and graduated from the program with her first six UW-Madison credits in 2008. “Odyssey was my passport to a new future,” she says.
Citizenship seemed an important next step. Lorya passed the required tests but could not afford the fee to the Department of Homeland Security, so Odyssey used its emergency funds to cover the cost. Now a U.S. citizen, Lorya was eligible for financial aid, scholarships, and employment as she pursued her dream of becoming a social worker.
“My initial goal,” she notes, “was to go to law school so that I could pursue immigration law because I was so passionate about that. I chose social work because it was a field that would satisfy my yearn of giving back to my community and it was so broad. I could focus on work in the medical field. I could work in child welfare, which I did for seven years; I learned so much as I supported many families who were navigating the CPS system. I could work in immigration supporting refugee families like mine once was. In my current job as a social worker for the county, I support families that have children with different abilities and disabilities by coordinating services for them.”
A mother of four, Lorya empathizes with families of children with special needs and with parents trying to pursue their own education while raising a family. Photos show her pregnant and with young children in tow while earning both a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in social work from UW-Madison. “I love being a mother. I learn something new every day from my children. They’re always challenging me and humbling me.”
Lorya comments that all of her children were involved with Odyssey Junior—an enrichment program for the children of Odyssey students and alumni—along the way. A daughter who was just three years old when Lorya was in Odyssey (noting “My mommy goes to college”) now attends UW-Madison on her way to a nursing degree. Zawadi also works as part of Odyssey Junior’s staff, inspiring children in the program to dream of becoming Badgers, too.
“Zawadi is one of my four heartbeats,” Lorya says. “She is special just like her name. Her name in Swahili translates to gift. She is such a kind, humble, funny, talented daughter. I’m so proud to be her mom. Odyssey Junior helped her find her voice and her purpose, just like Odyssey helped me find my passport to a new future.”
Lorya calls it surreal to think about how far she has come since her early days as an introverted refugee. In high school, she was told she’d never get into a Division 1 college, but now she not only has UW-Madison degrees but was even featured on the cover of On Wisconsin Magazine. A self-described introvert, she says she learned through Odyssey to “use your voice and speak up against injustice.” Reading Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” taught her to question everything and to feel she could “leap and pursue higher.”
To help those struggling in her native South Sudan to acquire literacy, Lorya organized a Little Free Library program and attained donations to ship books across the ocean. A nominator for the Athena Young Professional Award from the Business Forum observed, “Josephine Lorya stands as a reminder that someone who loses everything, including their homeland, endures tremendous trauma, and faces racial discrimination can—through hard work, leadership, initiative, and determination—become a success story inspiring others through their professionalism, humanitarianism, and service to others.” When Leigh Mills of NBC15 TV announced Lorya as the winner in 2021, Lorya gasped in surprise, then cried. In her acceptance speech, she dedicated the award to girls in South Sudan with big dreams but limited opportunities.
Lorya thinks about all the people out there in the community needing a passport to a new future. “Odyssey opened doors I never imagined possible. It is not just a pathway to get a higher education; it is a family. It is a community. The program instilled a lot of hope in me, that you can come from nothing and make yourself into something. I know there are many others out there in my shoes who, if given the opportunities that I was humbled enough to have, will also be able to journey to their dreams.”
