When Wofford’s enthusiastic student Orientation staff greeted new students on Aug. 28, they welcomed 74 first-generation college students and 120 legacies. They celebrated the arrival of 65 who signed national letters of intent to play Division I athletics for the Terriers, 56 high school student body officers and 26 editors of student magazines or newspapers. Twenty percent of the class is of an ethnicity other than white, and 44.5 percent is from out of state.
“For those of us who work in admission and financial aid, move-in day is our favorite day of the year,” says Brand Stille ’86, vice president for enrollment. “This year we welcomed 16 transfers and 475 first-year students, who come from 25 states and six countries, as far away as Norway. There are 253 women and 222 men with an average high school GPA of 4.18. We have a senator to Boys’ Nation, the host of a reality TV show aired on six continents and three musicians with original songs on Spotify.”
According to Stille, the Class of 2023 includes cliff jumpers and skydivers, class valedictorians and national merit finalists. Lilly Hatton, of Georgetown, Ind., scored more than 2,000 points over four years of playing varsity basketball — and yes, she’ll be playing for the Terriers. Nick Ackard, of Mount Pleasant, S.C., was promoted to assistant catering manager at Ben and Jerry’s in Charleston, S.C., and scooped more than 14,000 servings of ice cream this summer alone.
Jack Stomberger, of Danville, Ky., was named Outstanding Attorney and won the Supreme Court Showcase at the Kentucky Youth Assembly, and Matilda Redfern, of Atlanta, Ga., has had three art pieces in national museums.
Saidie McAuley, of Winston-Salem, N.C., traveled to 21 states in 23 days this summer, and Isaiah Franco, of Newtown, Pa., spent two weeks volunteering at the National Hispanic Institute in Texas.
Gray Whitener, of Columbia, S.C., is a fourth-generation Wofford student, and Annalee Rodgers, of Johnston, S.C., managed a payroll for 300 farm employees and maintained all accounts at a multimillion-dollar peach company.
“Every student in the Class of 2023 was handpicked,” Stille says. “We are confident that each and every firstyear student has what it takes to be successful here academically and to contribute in a positive way to this community.
“Just imagine what the list of accomplishments of the Class of 2023 might look like four years from now … graduated with honors … inducted into Phi Beta Kappa … received a full scholarship to medical school … became a Rhodes Scholar … accepted into the Peace Corps. Wofford is even better because of the Class of 2023!”
By Jo Ann Mitchell Brasington ’89