When I graduated from Wake Forest some 40 years ago, I naively assumed that all my classmates crossing the stage that day had had the same Wake Forest experience that I did. My time at Wake felt typical — developing new friendships, choosing a field of study, joining organizations, trying on new ideas and negotiating the liminal space between childhood and adulthood. It wasn’t until I returned to lead the alumni engagement team that I understood that people’s experiences at Wake Forest were as varied as the students who landed here. Wake Forest is not a single story. It is the sum of every individual experience of those who have passed through this institution.
But here is what I believe we share from our individual experiences. Whatever we learned here — whether in a classroom, on an athletic field, in student government or on the sticky dance floor of a fraternity house — was embedded in the person we became. We took what we learned here and set out to make a difference in some corner of the world.
In the two years since I was asked to host the Wake Women podcast, I have been reminded of the rich variety in students’ Wake Forest experience. I’ve interviewed a member of Congress and a firefighter, a bestselling novelist and a professional football player, a surgeon and a coffee shop founder, a golf pro and an inventor, a stand-up science comedian and a choreographer.
Over five seasons, I interviewed more than 70 women who changed, or were changed, by Wake Forest. My intention was to tell as many stories about Wake Forest women as possible, because no single profile can capture the essence of this institution. It’s impossible to name every attribute I admire in these women, but as the podcast wound down, I reviewed the archives to see what themes bubbled up. Four qualities kept rising to the top:
Connection. The pull of place brought them here in the beginning, and it became a fixed point they carried with them for the rest of their lives. The Quad on the first cool day of spring. The fall leaves dancing across the pathway leading to Reynolda Gardens. The smell of the ZSR stacks. The sound of longtime Provost Ed Wilson reciting Keats.
Heart. Pro Humanitate in action. There are so many women who stepped off the Quad and out into the world to serve. Whether their cause is food justice, institutional change, philanthropy, community building or guiding people through the last threshold of life, these women gave themselves to something larger than themselves — and reminded me that our motto is truly a way of life.
Courage. A firefighter, a civil rights trailblazer, a disability activist, a pro athlete. The women I met along the way had the courage to go first and keep going. They taught me that courage isn’t the absence of fear. It’s the decision to face fear and go anyway.
Wonder. The women I met didn’t finish learning when they got their diplomas. They have continued to be curious. Whether they are embarking on a spiritual pilgrimage, creating places of beauty or chasing the questions that matter most, these women find meaning in every place they look and everything they do. They know that bewilderment isn’t a failure. It’s the threshold of wisdom.
And what did I learn over the last two years? Every conversation seeped into my life. I changed some of my daily habits. I learned how to face life transitions, even the ultimate one. I was reminded of the genius of giving, the healing power of writing, the potential of transformational travel, the power of humor and the value of beauty in the world around us. There was a lot of laughter, a lot of reflection and more than a few tears.
But the thing I learned most was this: The kids will be fine. The next generation is in excellent hands — as long as we keep investing in them, inspiring them and showing up for them the way the women on this podcast have shown up for the world. I interviewed faculty, staff and students, and I can say with confidence that the young people coming through this institution are bright, creative and committed. They are inspired every day by the Wake Foresters who surround them, teach them and nurture them. The young women students and their professors moved me deeply with their intellect, their compassion and their desire to change the world.
What this podcast gave me, and what I hope it gave its listeners, is a sustaining reminder that the Wake Forest experience doesn’t end at graduation. It keeps showing up in the work these women do, the lives they lead and the world they are shaping, one conversation, one community, one act of courage at a time.
The Wake Women podcast has wrapped but is still available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
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