The Decree
since 1960 “of, by, andfor the Wesleyan community. ”
May 19, 2023
NORTH CAROLINA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY, ROCKY MOUNT, NORTH CAROLINA 27804
Bishop Profile: President’s Cup Winner Allison Wichrowski
NC Wesleyan senior Allison
Wichrowski, an exemplar of self-
discipline, hard work and aca
demic excellence, was named the
recipient of the 2023 President’s
Cup during Wesleyan’s May 6
commencement ceremony at the
Rocky Mount Event Center.
A native of Chatsworth, New
Jersey, she finished her college
career with a grade point average
of 3.99 while majoring in psy
chology and criminal justice.
Wichrowski has been busy
while enrolled at Wesleyan.
Since freshman year, she has
worked 20-25 hours per week
as a shift supervisor/pharmacy
technician at the CVS on Benv-
enue Road. She was a setter on
the volleyball team and earned
Student Athlete of the Year
in 2021-22. A member of the
honors program, she served as a
peer tutor in psychology for the
Student Success Center. Among
other activities and recognitions,
she was a member of WAAL
(Wesleyan Academy of Athletic
Leadership) and a community
leader at the Wesleyan Villas.
Students and faculty alike
praised Wichrowski’s efforts
over the past four years. Dr. Lee
Templeton taught Wichrowski in
English and humanities dur
ing her first year. “Allison's an
intelligent and hard-working
student who was always willing
to challenge herself,” he wrote in
an email. “Even when the course
was difficult, she found ways to
connect with the material and
produce impressive work.”
Professors Bill Yankosky
and Fred Sanborn, director
and assistant director of the
Taylor-Crocker Honors Program,
cited not just Wichrowski’s
exceptional academic work but
her organizational skills and
self-discipline, noting her ability
to balance school with a job
and participation in sports and a
number of extracurricular activi
ties. Dr. Yankosky, a mathemat
ics professor, recalled the project
Wichrowski completed in his
honors class on cryptology. Not
ing that it focused on the author
Edgar Allan Poe, he called her
paper and oral report outstand
ing. “She exemplifies what it
means to be a student-athlete and
active member of the Wesleyan
community,” he said.
Mary Alice Butler, a vol
leyball teammate and a fellow
member of the honors program,
took many classes together with
Wichrowski. She described her
as “always engaged” in class and
said that she enjoyed their class
discussions, remembering, in
particular, a class on Icelandic
sagas. She related that the two
often studied together. “She was
always open to helping others.
I would often turn to her with
questions, and she would help
without hesitation,” Butler said,
adding “I’m very thankful for
my friendship with Allie.”
The Decree interviewed
Wichrowski, a first-generation
college student, at the end of the
semester for the following profile.
Q: Describe the area where you
were raised in central New Jersey.
A: We lived on a five-acre farm,
and we owned several horses,
Allison Wichrowski Photo courtesy of A. Wichrowski
chickens, dogs and many, many
cats. My younger sister and I both
competed in different riding events.
Q: You also mentioned that
you’re a first-generation college
student. How did that affect you?
A: I am a first-generation college
student, and it came with its own
unique challenges. Neither of my
parents could offer application
or loan advice, and many big
ger schools rated me less capable
than other candidates. Many high
school (Eastern Regional High
School) classmates were surprised
to see I was going to college, let
alone playing a sport.
Q: What other colleges did you con
sider? And what was it that appealed
to you most about NC Wesleyan?
A: I considered several other schools
as I was recruited to play volleyball.
Bloomfield College (in New Jersey),
Tennessee Wesleyan University,
Mount Mary University (Wisconsin),
University of Redlands (California),
and others were all contenders. After
interviewing with the professors here,
meeting the administration, and final
izing financial aid, Wesleyan became
the best choice for me.
Q: Can you elaborate on your
visit? What most impressed you?
A: Meeting Taylor Stone and
Wayne Sears had a positive impact
on both me and my father. My
father felt comfortable with Mr.
Sears and how open he was about
his security policies. Ms. Stone
made me feel very welcome and a
part of the Wesleyan family before
I even finished applying to the
school. She was eager to answer
all my questions, even small ones.
Coach Vicky (Gentile) made my
experience feel unique by bringing
me-and only a few other recruits-
-to play with the team. Other visits
would involve 10 or more recruits,
and it felt like an obligatory invite
rather than the programs express
ing genuine interest.
Q: What was it like going to
school in the South?
A: My parents weren’t able to
see me play much, but sometimes
watched the live stream. Both my par
ents came to Senior Day; that meant
a lot, as my dad hadn’t seen me play
since my senior year of high school.
I’ve had to miss several holidays and
birthdays back home, but I knew my
parents were always supportive of my
decision to come this far and I’ve built
my own “family” while I’ve been at
Wesleyan. I would say the biggest
adjustment from living in the North
is the pace of life. The South moves
much slower and with less urgency. It
was hard to get used to that.
Q: What led you to study psy
chology and criminal justice?
A: I’ve always enjoyed helping
people, which led me to psychol
ogy. After finishing my psychology
courses, I developed an interest in
criminal behavior and the connec
tion to psychology, so I added a
criminal justice major. I also mi-
nored in visual arts; I enjoy pottery
and have experience with wheel-
throwing mugs, bowls, and plates.
Q: Tell us about your favorite class.
A: I had two classes that I enjoyed
very much. My first is abnormal
psychology with Dr. (Kim) Martin.
This appealed to everything I love
about psychology, from observation
to diagnosis and treatment plans.
My other favorite was my geology
class with Mr. (Bruce) Harvey. He
teaches with so much passion and
truly cares for his students; he even
makes students who don’t enjoy
science feel confident.
Q: And what was the hardest class?
A: It was my first honors class dur
ing freshman year. I think I’ve studied
every angle of “Beowulf ’ with Dr.
Templeton. This class took most of my
time as I’m not the fastest reader, and I
had limited skills regarding interpret-
ing themes in the text. Dr. Templeton
helped me grow as a writer and even
if the class was difficult, I can’t thank
him enough for my development.
Q: What was the biggest chal
lenge you had to overcome in
working toward your degree?
A: I’ve been a busy student for
most of my time here. During my
sophomore year, my grandmother
passed away, which hit both my
sister and me hard because we
lived with our grandparents. Vol
leyball took up a lot of my time
and I began working at CVS in the
spring of my freshman year—20-
25 hours per week. With all of
these responsibilities, time man
agement was the biggest challenge.
Q: You're an excellent student.
Describe your study habits? And
what advice would you offer to
Wesleyan first-year students?
A: I’m a visual person and learn
best by working with the material
hands-on. I find it hard to listen to
lectures and audiobooks. I like to
create my own practice tests (shout
out to Quizlet!) and use Kahoot
learning games. My advice is to
identify your learning style and de
sign your tools based on that. I also
recommend peer tutors as a resource
to help with the learning process.
Q: Describe your honors project.
A: It was titled “Psychology and
Societal Factors in Serial Killers.”
I explored the history of serial
killers and then selected several
examples to perform a case-study
analysis. I examined a list of speci
fied factors and typologies and
analyzed how each serial killer did
or did not fit into each case study.
For my project I studied Edmund
Kerner, Arthur Shawcross and Ted
Bundy. I looked at genetics, head
trauma, and family environment.
Q: Can you elaborate on what
you mean by typologies.
A: Typologies refer to the type of
killer. For example, organized kill
ers plan their crimes in grave detail
in advance and usually dispose of
the body without leaving much, if
any, evidence. By contrast, unor
ganized killers may kill spontane
ously and not fully develop a plan
for the murder.
Q: Who’s your “favorite” serial
killer? And what TV shows do you
recommend for readers who share
your interest?
A: Richard Ramirez has always
been fascinating to me, mostly due
to his childhood experiences; the
Netflix documentary, “The Night
Stalker,” is about him. I also enjoyed
the documentary about John Wayne
Gacy and “The Killer Nurse,” which
is about Charles Cullen.
Q: What would you say was your
happiest moment while you were at
Wesleyan?
A: I would have to say the last day
of junior year; it was my birthday.
As a child, I never had birthday par
ties and it was nice to have friends
with me to play games and dance
all night. We had all finished finals
that day and could finally breathe
some fresh air. We ate dinner at El
Tapatio and we laughed at one of
our friends for ordering chicken
tenders at a Mexican restaurant.
Then we went back to the house to
play a board game that friends and
I invented. It involved various activi-
WRAL morning anchor Renee Chou, pictured with President Evan
Duff, delivered the commencement address during Wesleyan's
graduation ceremony May 6 at Rocky Mount Event Center. Here is
a breakdown of the 2023 graduates: 47 students earned an MBA;
20, a master's in criminal justice; and 11, a bachelor's in nursing
(BSN). There were 339 who received B.A. or B.S. degrees from
the traditional day and APS programs. Graduates came from six
continents and 17 foreign countries. C. Lewis photo
Baseball Team Sweeps Peace,
Takes First Title since 2009
Zach Lyon drove in three runs
and the Bishops took advantage
of their opponent’s sloppy de
fense Saturday afternoon to win
their second straight game over
Raleigh’s William Peace Uni
versity and claim their first USA
South title since 2009.
Winning their 15th game in a
row, the Bishops improved their
overall record to 35-8. The team
placed first in the regular-season
standings with 18-3 mark. Peace,
led by former Wesleyan coach
Charlie Long, finished in a three-
way tie for second with Methodist
and Greensboro at 13-8.
With the victory, Wesleyan
qualifies for the NCAA Division
III regional playoffs. It now awaits
word on its first-round opponent.
Saturday’s 8-4 win followed a
9-2 drubbing of Peace Friday night
in the opener, under the lights at
Bauer Field. Leading 2-1 after five
innings, Wesleyan exploded for
seven mns in the sixth, seventh
and eighth innings to secure the
win. Five Wesleyan batters had
RBI hits, as Peace committed four
errors in the field, producing a total
of five unearned mns.
Wesleyan’s Payne Stolsworth,
the conference Pitcher of the Year,
extended his winning streak to 11
wins without a loss. He yielded
ties, one on each square (cartwheels,
truth or dare, sharpie tattoos, and
shirt swapping, etc.). Watching the
guys try to do cartwheels was a
comedic experience.
Q: What’s your best memory as
a member of the volleyball team?
A: Last year’s Scotland trip was
an amazing experience for the
teammates who chose to go. I spent
most of my time with Mary Cat Da
vis and MAB (Mary Alice Butler)
and had a very good time touring a
different country. One of the funni
est experiences occurred one night
during dinner at a local pub. As the
waiter took our orders, we all asked
for the baked macaroni and cheese
because we didn’t recognize the
other items on the menu. The waiter
looked at us and jokingly made a
reference to us being Americans
and we all busted out laughing.
See WINNER pg 2
five hits and a mn in the first
three innings, but then limited the
Pacers to one hit and an unearned
run over the next five. Relief
pitcher Cullen Davis worked the
ninth, striking out two batters in
a non-save situation. “Payne just
locked into what he’s been doing
all year.. .getting the job done,”
Coach Greg Clifton said.
On Saturday afternoon Wesleyan
was stymied through the first four in
nings by Pacer starter Jack McIntosh.
“We didn’t do a great job with
adjustments early. He kept us off
balance with a lot of off-speed
pitches just like the last time he
faced us,” Clifton said, referring to
McIntosh's 3-2 win, a four-hitter,
on April 10 in Raleigh (The Pacers
took the three-game series, 2-1).
The Bishops broke through in
the fifth. Trying to spark a rally,
Drifton Padgett dropped a bunt
down the third base line for a
single. Jean LaGreca attempted
a sacrifice bunt to the pitcher’s
mound, but McIntosh botched it
for an error, putting runners on
first and second. After a sacri
fice by Luke Chung, the Bish
ops tallied their first ran as Lyon
singled to left, LaGreca holding
at third. The next batter, Tyson
Bass, lofted a fly to left field.
' See BASEBALL pg 4