When Instructor of Practice Alisa Nagle retired from her multi-decade career in human resources, she and her husband had the option of living anywhere in the world.
They chose Milwaukee.
“The nature, the lake, the proximity to Chicago, and the love that we have for this city and its people made staying here an easy choice,” Nagle says.
She now shares that love of Milwaukee with hundreds of passengers as a tour guide on Edelweiss Cruises, which takes people up and down the Milwaukee River from May to October each year. Her narration brings the stories of the river’s buildings and landmarks to life — stories that even people who live in Milwaukee might overlook.
How did you get into tour guiding?
I’ve been a long-time volunteer with Historic Milwaukee Inc., which is a wonderful nonprofit organization here in Milwaukee. They’ve been around since the 1970s, and their whole mission is to educate and to preserve Milwaukee history, particularly architecture. Years ago, I started doing some tours for them, such as the River Walk tour in the downtown area. And then, honestly, it just grew from there.
What’s one thing you love most about Milwaukee that you always point out on your tours?
Our early mayors wanted everybody in Milwaukee to be able to enjoy nature and green space. That’s one of the things I truly love about our city. I remember when I first came here, of course I was blown away by the lake, but then I started to really appreciate and recognize this extensive county park system. We have a forest in one of our Milwaukee neighborhoods, Havenwoods, and it’s just unheard of for that to be in a city. I always tell people about that.
What’s something about Milwaukee history you wish everyone in this city knew?
The 1840s through the 1860s was a pretty dark time in U.S. history. This is when the federal government began to forcibly remove all the indigenous people off this land. Specifically for Milwaukee history, the government took the land away and then sold the land back to three prominent, wealthy white men who had permanently settled in the area, whom we now refer to as the city’s founders: Solomon Juneau, Byron Kilbourn and George Walker. This happened all over the U.S., but this was the unfortunate backstory for Milwaukee being chartered as a city.
Your LinkedIn bio reads, “Second Careers Rock.” What was the process of inventing your second career like? How did you arrive at teaching?
I think it came down to the idea that I can be a part of turning out really good people, which is an important part of my professional mission and what I love about Marquette. By teaching, I can fulfill that mission in ways that matter to me, and I can do it in ways that add value.
I really have a lot of gratitude for Dr. Mark Barratt, my department chair, and my colleagues in management who were willing to get to know me a little bit more after noticing my work during my seven years as an adjunct professor. Their ability to recognize me and invite me to be part of everything that was happening at Marquette Business was so appreciated.
Does tour guiding give you any additional perspective on Milwaukee’s business climate or the kind of world that your students will be graduating into?
I think we have to find ways to keep our young, bright, capable talent right here in Milwaukee. For Milwaukee to grow and thrive, we must entice young people to give Milwaukee a chance. And why not Milwaukee? There’s so much going on in our city. My students can be a part of building a powerful, wonderful, new group of leaders.
You are also a gardener, with more than 200 potted plants in your house. What does that hobby add to your life?
I’ve been a gardener for 30 years. I’ve always had perennial gardens and vegetable gardens and it’s just something I’ve always enjoyed. Growing something has lots of metaphors for life, for parenting and for teaching, because being a really good gardener of house plants is about creating the most optimal set of conditions for that plant to be able to thrive. You have to figure every single one out. What are the conditions that this plant needs to thrive and grow and be beautiful? I think teaching is very similar.
