When Will Wohlford finished high school in 2020, he set his sights on becoming an
educator himself, and he said it wasn’t difficult to formulate his plan to do just
that.
“I grew up in Radford for most of my life; I went to Radford High School,” Wohlford
explained. “After I graduated, I went to New River Community College for two years
and ended up transferring to Radford University.
“It was really, mainly because of the community I had formed here. I have a good community;
I have family here, so why would I want to leave it?”
Wohlford’s early participation in Access to Community College (ACCE) helped cover
some of his tuition costs. In 2022, he entered Radford as a junior and joined the
university’s Exercise, Sport and Health Education (ESHE) program.
Now, just two years later, Wohlford has completed his classroom placements, has passed
his licensing exam and has accepted a position teaching health and physical education
at Fort Chiswell Middle School in Max Meadows, Virginia.
He and his wife, Amanda, were married over the summer, and she’s in education as well.
“She’s into her second year teaching second grade in Montgomery County, and I am now
going to be teaching in Wythe County, so it just worked out,” he said.
Over the fall semester, Wohlford spent a total of 14 weeks completing his teaching
placements in Pulaski County and Blacksburg before landing at Fort Chiswell. It was
an experience, he said, that helped give him a sound foundation for a career in education.
“You can learn a lot in school and in all these classes, but when you’re standing
in a room full of 30 middle schoolers, you realize that sometimes things just don’t
go as planned, so you really just have to learn to adapt,” he said.
That kind of flexibility and staying present plugs into his overall outlook on education,
regardless of which side of it one finds themselves on.
“If you’re coming to Radford, I would just encourage any student to lean into things:
Your community, your classes, the people around you, like your professors and advisors,”
Wohlford offered. “Don’t just go through like a ‘system student,’ really try to form
relationships with people.
“I think when you do that, there’s a lot of fruit to be had, and there are a lot of
opportunities that open up if you find a community and, you know, just be bold.”
