Dr. Christopher Maniece B.A. ‘13, M.S., MSE ‘17
Dr. Christopher Maniece named UW-Whitewater 2022 Outstanding Recent Alumnus
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater is proud to announce that Christopher Maniece, who earned a B.A. in psychology in 2013 followed by dual master’s degrees — an M.S. in Counseling with an emphasis in school counseling and an MSE in Professional Development, with an emphasis in higher education leadership — in 2017, has been selected as the university's Outstanding Recent Alumnus for 2022.
Maniece, who also earned an Ed.D. from Edgewood College in 2021, is a school counselor at Jefferson Middle School in the Madison Metropolitan School District.
As the Milwaukee native already has four higher education degrees — three earned at UW-Whitewater — and is on a path to earn his fifth in May 2024, it would be tempting to see him as a person driven by achievement.
But the key to this leader’s heart is family.
“I cherish relationships,” said Maniece. “My parents, my family, my fraternity brothers, my friends, and my girlfriend.”
He brings that heart to his current role as a school counselor at Jefferson Middle School in the Madison Metropolitan School District, where he has worked since 2017. His support for young students ranges from facilitating the fifth-to-sixth grade transition to serving as master scheduler and focusing on at-risk students. He has a clear passion for opening the doors for others, and much of his work focuses on exposing students to academic and career opportunities, including post-secondary education.
“I believe in equity, and that every student must be college, career and community ready.”
At first Maniece did not even consider UW-Whitewater when applying to college. Although he was ranked number three in his class at Harold S. Vincent High, disappointing standardized test scores limited his options. He hadn’t even visited the campus before he started the Upward Bound pre-college program in the summer of 2010.
“It was a six-week course,” said Maniece. “Completing it allowed me to start off with a 4.0 coming into fall semester. I made it my mission to graduate in three-and-a-half years. And I made Whitewater my home.”
He gained lifelong friends in addition to academic confidence that summer. Members of a fraternity, Alphi Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., helped him during move-in day, making such an impression with how committed they were to the task at hand, he joined the fraternity. Maniece threw himself into Greek life so much he was recommended to be Greek Man of the Year during the 2012-13 academic year. He also worked throughout school: as a crew member at Drumlin Hall, then as a student manager. He joined the Black Student Union, and he was a resident assistant.
“I loved working with students,” he said. “I took two other residents with me constantly to the gym, and I served as a Global Ambassador with our international students, sitting and eating with them at Drumlin and having talks.”
During his time at UW-Whitewater he took part in four travel-study trips: to Jamaica, to South Africa, to Paris, and a Civil Rights trip across the United States.
“Those trips gave me opportunities to become more culturally competent, to be more secure in who I was and to gain a better understanding of others.”
He started as a psychology major. Richard McGregory encouraged him to apply to the McNair Scholars undergraduate research program, and he initially planned to work in forensic psychology.
“But then I started to think about how my high school counselor Ms. Trimburger was helpful and guided me. It made me think, ‘I can do this for others.’”
After graduating with B.A. in psychology in 2013, he worked as a graduate coordinator of the university’s McNair Scholars Program while earning his two master’s degrees. After being hired by the Madison Metropolitan School District, he worked in various roles in two schools in the district — Sherman Middle School and Jefferson Middle School.
As he did, he also earned a Doctorate in Education, with the thesis “Staff perceptions of students racial self-segregating behaviors in a middle school.”
And he’s only just begun. Maniece’s plan is to become first a principal and eventually a superintendent of schools. And along the way? He’s also learning Spanish, with the goal of being bilingual.
