For the Wolfe family, attending Virginia
Wesleyan College is a tradition. Pictured
left to right Paul, III ’07, Paul, Jr. ’82,
Phyllis ’97 and Matt ’09.
Members of the Virginia Wesleyan community are used to hearing themselves referred to as a "family." In the case of the Wolfe family, that's even closer to the truth.
Paul Wolfe, Jr. is a 1982 graduate of the College. His wife, Phyllis, graduated in 1997. Their two sons, Paul III and Matt, are currently attending Wesleyan as a junior and a freshman, respectively.
Paul Jr.'s initial interest in Virginia Wesleyan was sparked when he was recruited to play baseball at the College by former baseball coach Marvin Townsend. While at Wesleyan, Paul was a Liberal Arts Management Program (LAMP) major and, in addition to baseball, was also a member of the golf team. He is now a sales representative with the Jones & Frank Corporation.
During Paul's time at Wesleyan, Phyllis developed an interest in the College as well.
"Every time she came to campus when I was there, she enjoyed the campus and the atmosphere and the student-professor ratio and ended up transferring in," Paul said. "She wanted to go back and get her degree and go into teaching."
Phyllis majored in history and education, graduating summa cum laude, and received the education department academic award as well as the Women's Historical Society award for the woman with the highest grade point average. Phyllis has been teaching for eight years and currently works with Chesapeake Public Schools.
"I went to college after I had children," Phyllis said. "Matthew was four and Paul was seven when I started at TCC Chesapeake. I was interested in becoming a Teacher's Assistant because I had been volunteering at school and I liked the interaction with the children. I decided to go to college for teaching and my cousin, Beth Denny Ryan '87, majored in education and told me Virginia Wesleyan had the absolute best teaching program. I was already familiar with the College [because of] my husband Paul. Dr. Mansfield helped me pick the correct classes even while I was still at TCC."
The couple's older son, Paul III, received a congressional nomination at West Point and attended the U.S. Military Academy for two years before transferring into Virginia Wesleyan. A good student and a Dean's List honoree, he decided that he did not want to be in the Army and is now majoring in classics and pursuing a minor in political science, hoping to get into law school at the University of Virginia.
"I basically chose Virginia Wesleyan because of the good things I heard from my mom and dad," he said. "I did go to West Point for a while, and while I was there I quickly learned the benefits of small class sizes. So coming here and still having that individual attention made me extremely comfortable.
"It's kind of funny that all of us have come here. We all know the same professors, they know us. it seems like we can all relate to each other a little better now in some way."
Paul's younger brother, Matt, entered Virginia Wesleyan in the fall and is leaning toward a major in business and computer science.
"I really got a lot out of my experience at Virginia Wesleyan, going back at a later time in life even though I ended up with the nickname 'the old lady who asks all the questions,'" Phyllis said. "I was able to bring Paul and Matthew each to a class during my time there. I never imagined that they would one day be attending.
"I am glad my children are able to live on campus and experience even more than I did. I am very proud of them and enjoy having them at my alma mater. I hope they get as much out of it as I did."