January 14, 2025

By Lane Kimble

Devin Maconaghy will probably spend a lot of time in front of a computer in the future.

The Reedsburg Area High School junior wants to graduate early and learn coding.

But it’s the 45-minute online course he had to take last month for a different subject that should have a lasting impact on his life – and others – for years to come.

“It still hasn’t 100 percent set in,” Maconaghy told WTBA.  “It feels amazing.”

Monday, Maconaghy received a $500 check for successfully completing the Work Zone Safe Wisconsin course.

The free course, which WTBA and its partners launched statewide in April, allows young adults working toward their driver’s license to comply with a new state law that requires at least 30 minutes of work zone-specific education.

Work Zone Safe Wisconsin’s online platform requires students to watch more than a dozen videos, in their entirety, sharing stories about the real-life consequences of dangerous driving behaviors in work zones.  Quizzes at the end of each section ask specific questions about the men and women in the videos.

“How many people lost a family member or someone close to them and how sad and tragic it was (stood out to me,)” Maconaghy said.  “It made me feel really emotional.”

The Wisconsin County Highway Association generously sponsors the monthly $500 scholarship winners.  WCHA celebrated Devin and his family at its Winter Highway Conference in Wisconsin Dells.

“I think it’s absolutely amazing,” mom Danielle Maconaghy said of the course.  “I don’t remember anything like this when I was a teenager, so this, I think, is a very good experience.  Understanding everything that goes into getting your license because not everybody’s a safe driver out there… I’m very proud of my son.”

More than 2,000 people have successfully completed the course since its launch.