University of Wisconsin-Madison alumnus Josh Bycel spoke on campus Thursday about his experience in the Hollywood industry, including work on noted television shows such as “Scrubs” and “Happy Endings,” as well as his non-profit work.
Bycel visited campus as part of the Wisconsin Rewind Lecture, which is hosted by a partnership of the Distinguished Lecture Series and the Homecoming Committee. He graduated from UW-Madison in 1993.
The lecture, which Bycel titled “Finding Your Voice,” emphasized that students can not learn and succeed without trying and failing, and they should not let the fear of failing keep them from trying in the first place.
Bycel focused most of his speech on his non-profit organization, OneKid OneWorld, which he uses to rebuild schools in Africa and Central America. Since its inception in 2006, the organization has raised over $750,000 and helped over 5,000 students.
OneKid OneWorld focuses mainly on improving schools in Kenya and El Salvador, but has plans to expand into more countries in both Africa and South America, according to Bycel.
While his work may seem difficult, Bycel said anyone can do what he has, if they just find something they are passionate about and actually do it. He says he lives by his organization’s motto, which is “Life is Short. Make a difference.”
Bycel said his work with his organization ties in well to UW-Madison’s Homecoming week, since the theme of the 2012 Homecoming week is a renewed commitment to community service.
According to Bycel, his time at UW-Madison had a profound impact on his career and the lessons he learned on campus continue to shape how he lives his life.
“I learned to always be open to new possibilities and new things,” Bycel said. “Madison is a place that has everything you could ever want, and there is always something interesting going on. And that’s the key to this place, to take advantage of everything.”
