Countless young adults will call Madison home for the four or more years of their college education.
There are some UW-Madison students, however, who have called Madison home their entire lives.
These students are true Madisonians, born and bred in the city where they now attend college.
The Madisonian perspective of this city is slightly different than those who experience the city for the first time when they arrive as freshmen.
Max Zalewski, a UW-Madison junior, said he remembers the university's presence in his life even as a child.
'My mom and dad would take me on bike rides and we'd go around campus,' he said. 'Pretty much the whole downtown is based on the university, so in the summer when the students were gone we'd go to the Union. I remember the first time I went to State Street at night when students were here was the first time I had ever seen drunk people.'
UW-Madison junior Nicole Simmons grew up in Verona, a small town just outside Madison's borders.
She said growing up so near the university played a huge role in where she chose to attend college.
'I definitely wanted to go to a large, Division I school where there were opportunities and things to do in a great city,' she said. 'I knew the city inside out, so that eased the transition into college too.'
These Madisonians also have several tips about great things to do in Madison that out-of-town UW-Madison students may not know about.
Zalewski recommends disc golfing in Elmer Park on Madison's west side.
Simmons said Madison Mallards baseball games and the short road trip to Devil's Lake are some fun things to do off campus.
Zalewski said that he does not regret coming to Madison, but that he feels he did miss a part of growing up.
'It's hard to grow up where you already know everything. Part of growing up is getting out on your own, and I really didn't get that opportunity from college,' he said.
Simmons, however, disagrees.
'The fact that it is just in my backyard is an added bonus because I knew I didn't want to go that far from home,' she said. 'I've grown up wanting to be a Badger, and I'd never give this up.'
