“We met in calculus class,” says Angela Shiflet. “We sat in the back of the room and talked the whole time. So we graduated college…”
“… from an unnamed university…,” George Shiflet continues.
Angela laughs, then finishes: “Furman… We got jobs at separate colleges, and then we transferred to Wofford.”
Several students talked about their experiences in the Shiflets’ classes.
Senior Alissa Williams says, “[Dr. Anglea Shiflet] definitely can be intense with homework. She’s very into partner assignments. You’ll work with people you would never normally work with. I can truly say that I’m learning something in the class, and she wants us to learn.”
“I had biochemistry with Dr. George Shiflet,” says junior Riddick Blocker. “The fluidity of his presentation… it wasn’t like a presentation, it was a narration, a narration of the biochemical intricacies of life. You have some of those classes where you walk out and see things differently. That class was definitely one of those.”
Senior Justin Whitaker says, “Dr. Angela Shiflet has a very unique talent of placing students where they need to go.”
“She is incredible about helping students get internships,” agrees junior Daija Rogers. “She emails me internship opportunities all the time. She really wants me to go somewhere.”
“Dr. George Shiflet hates squirrels, so lots of [his] modelling examples involve hawks eating squirrels,” says Williams.
“Dr. Shiflet is one of those people who never gets bored,” says Blocker. “He’s just one of those people who enjoys learning all the time, 24/7.”
Teaching is one of the Shiflets’ greatest passions.
George Shiflet says their success is because they are “extraordinarily focused on our students. We came to a liberal arts college because we went to one, and the experience was so good. I can’t think of anything we’d rather do than be teaching… When students come in and ask questions and suddenly, it becomes clear to then, that’s the best feeling for us. You have no idea.”
Angela says they’ll miss the Wofford community most after they retire.
“We’re looking forward to what we’ll be studying next, but we’ll miss the sharing of it,” she says.
“Exactly,” says George. “Also collaborating with your colleagues; you get a lot of ideas from your colleagues.”
Rogers says she is “really sad, really really sad” to see the Shiflets go. “Angela Shiflet is the only woman in the computer science department. She’s really made a mark here, a great mark here.”
“I think both Dr. Shiflets have been great for Wofford, and it’s sad to see them go. They’re going to be hard to replace,” says Whitaker.
—Caleb Pierce