Wofford College

Laila Villeda '26 is accustomed to being a trailblazer in her family. Not only is Villeda the first in her family to go to college. The finance major from Cumming, Georgia, also is the first to graduate from high school. "For my parents to not even have finished middle school, me going to a four-year college is unheard of," says Villeda. "I am so happy to be paving the way for my family, and to be able to help others like me." Villeda and 25 other first-generation students were the first inductees into Wofford's Theta Omicron Chapter of Alpha Alpha Alpha on Nov. 8. Students with a minimum 3.2 GPA and at least 30 earned credit hours are eligible for induction into the honor society for first-gen students. Tri-Alpha was founded in 2018 at Moravian University.

Cassie Cohen '26 attended Wednesday's All Saints Day of Remembrance Tolling of the Bells to perform with the Wofford Singers. When a familiar name was read, Cohen, a theatre major from Hilton Head, South Carolina, was moved to tears. Michael Wallace Bassett '96 was Cohen's English teacher at Hilton Head Prep. She didn't know he was a Wofford graduate until the moment his name was read as one of the 141 students, staff, faculty, alumni and friends of the college who died during the past year.

Mariella Stine '25 learned a lot about herself while studying in Granada, Spain, during the spring 2023 semester. The most important lesson was that she could stand on her own. "The independence of going abroad and participating in a program where there weren't a lot of Wofford students was a good thing for me," says Stine, a Spanish and studio art double major from Sandy Springs, Georgia. "Now that I am back, my perspective about the challenges I face here is different, too. If I could handle going to another country for five months on my own, I can handle this."

Inspiration comes in many different forms. For Nicke Haney, growing up as a latchkey kid was her inspiration for founding Brown Girls Read. Haney, who now serves as the organization's CEO, remembers being a child and waiting for her parents to come home from work. She used the time to read and journal, which led to an appreciation for the power of words.

Spartanburg County is one of the fastest growing counties in the country. Two teams of Wofford students conducted research to determine the impact of that growth on the area's water quality. Dr. Amelia Atwell, visiting assistant professor of biology, and Dr. Johnathan Davis, assistant professor of biology, are directed the teams, which measured the aquatic biodiversity of Lawson's Fork Creek and its tributaries.

The Wofford women's basketball team began August with a 10-day trip to France. There were basketball scrimmages and opportunities to explore the country. While Paris is on most bucket lists and Nice was as enjoyable as one can imagine, Normandy held the greatest educational significance to us both as Americans and as Wofford Terriers.

Traveling is usually a bad thing in basketball. Michael Henson '25 spent his entire summer doing it and didn't draw a single whistle. Henson moved between several power five colleges teaching young kids basketball while also creating connections for his future in the sport.

Joel Gammah '26 has spent his summer solving math problems and teaching others. Gammah, a computer science major and mathematics minor from Cape Coast, Ghana, is interning at the National Museum of Mathematics (MoMath) in New York City. His primary role is guiding visitors as they explore the museum exhibits and ensuring they understand the mathematical concepts behind each display.

Simon Holland '25 and Katie Sullivan '25 spent their summers with ROTC cadets from across the United States fine-tuning their understanding of languages critical to the United States military. Holland, an international affairs major from Columbia, South Carolina, studied Arabic in Jordan. Sullivan, a Chinese and international affairs double major from Norfolk, Virginia, studied Chinese in Taiwan. Both participated in Project Global Officer (Project GO), an initiative of the Defense Language and National Security Education Office.

Most people don't know they have an aortic aneurysm until they need emergency treatment. Mark Hanna '25 spent the summer conducting research with the goal of changing that.

There is a lot more to the college application process than filling out an application. Wofford College faculty and a student spent time guiding high school students from around Spartanburg through the finer details of attending college by hosting an iCAN Spartanburg camp.

Wofford College awarded 384 Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts degrees to 369 graduates during the college's 169th Commencement exercises.

Five Wofford College students are spending the summer filling a void in the college's recorded history, and their research will contribute to ongoing campus conversations. The students will collect stories from Black alumni, primarily from the late 1960s through the late 1980s, as the first part of a research project organized by the college's Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.

In early May, 18 Wofford College students discussed their work in the Spartanburg community with hopes of winning funding to continue supporting the growth and development of 10 community-based programs. Each of the 10 projects discussed walked away with at least $250 and the grand prize winner, Determined Minds, which serves Camp Croft Courts and Prince Hall Apartments, earned $1,250.

Dr. Timothy Schmitz, provost of Wofford College, has announced Dean's List students for the spring 2023 semester.

Phi Beta Kappa inductions were held May 19, 2023. Phi Beta Kappa is Wofford's highest academic honor.

Dozens of Wofford College students were recognized for academic excellence, leadership and citizenship on Friday, May 19, at the college's annual Honors Convocation held in the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium. President Nayef Samhat named Josh Lipscomb '24, a philosophy and Spanish double major from Travelers Rest, South Carolina as Wofford's Presidential International Scholar for the 2023-24 academic year. Academic departments also recognized their outstanding students, and a variety of other leadership and citizenship awards were presented during the event.

Wofford College's Class of 2023 received words of wisdom from a Tony, Grammy and James Beard award winner, and they were all one person. Alexander Smalls, a renowned opera singer, chef and author who attended Wofford in the early 1970s, delivered the keynote address during the college's 169th Commencement Exercises on Sunday, May 21, 2023. The college awarded 384 Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts degrees to 369 graduates. The college also conferred honorary degrees on three individuals: Patricia Gainey, Brenda Lee Pryce and Smalls.

Josh Lipscomb '24 has spent this year rehearsing for next year. Lipscomb, a philosophy and Spanish double major from Travelers Rest, South Carolina, has been studying in Spain since August. Next year he'll travel to Mexico and Peru as Wofford's 2023-24 Presidential International Scholar.

Early in his sophomore year at Wofford, Thomas Rowland IV '23 wrote a song about a woman and the trials of their relationship. He called the anthem "Ragdoll," and it became the first original song he performed for an audience. On April 13, Rowland will have the opportunity to perform the song for the largest crowd of his budding career when he opens for Old Crow Medicine Show at Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium. While he's played at colleges and bars throughout the Carolinas, this will be his first ticketed gig.

No matter what happens at the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association national championships on Thursday, May 4, Remington Linker '25 has already won. After what she went through to get there, it's just that simple.

A pair of first-year students will represent Wofford College in the SoCon Entrepreneurship Challenge on March 31 at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. Zion Sampson '26, an undeclared major from Aiken, South Carolina, will present a nonprofit business that provides dental care to underserved communities. Tommy Tessien '26, an undeclared major from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, will present a for-profit business called Perfect Curb.

The Wofford College Theatre Department's spring production of "Equus" hits the stage beginning April 20. Alex Malvern '23, an English major from Greenville, South Carolina, plays one of the main characters, Alan Strang, and describes "Equus" as a show that is about belief and understanding one another, and making one's pain mean something.

Emily Lang '23 recently presented her summer research on the science of aging at Harvard University. The research involved Lang, a psychology major from Lexington, South Carolina, working with Dr. Kara Bopp, professor of psychology, to look at resources available to seniors in Spartanburg County while conducting interviews and creating a definition of successful aging.

Mina Gencoguz '26 often wakes up before her roommate, but on Feb. 6 her roommate was up first and asked if she knew about the earthquake in Turkey. Istanbul, Turkey's largest city, is her home.

Wofford College's Rosalind Sallenger Richardson Center for the Arts served as a courthouse in February as 300 students from 13 colleges and universities competed in an American Mock Trial Association Regional Tournament. Wofford, which had two teams participating in the tournament, fielded its first mock trial team in 2022, and now the college hosted a regional tournament.

Dr. Timothy Schmitz, provost of Wofford College, has announced Dean's List students for the fall 2022 semester.

Messiah Jones '23 surprised himself while teaching at Meeting Street Academy during the fall semester. Jones, a sociology and anthropology major from Chicago, Illinois, discovered that he enjoyed teaching. Jones' time in the classroom was made possible by a new partnership between Wofford College and Meeting Street, a public school of innovation in Spartanburg School District 7.

A record number of Wofford College students are receiving Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarships to study abroad. Seven students were awarded scholarships that will be used for Interim 2023 and the spring 2023 semester. The scholarships are given by the U.S. Department of State to support students studying and interning abroad while gaining skills that are critical to the United States' national security and economy. The scholarships are for up to $5,000.

The names of students, staff, faculty, alumni and friends of the college who have died during the past year are read each year on Nov. 1, and the bell in Main Building tolls for each of them. It tolled 177 times this year.