Virginia Campbell ‘43 is the first to tell you she’s lived a long, purposeful life. In fact, you don’t even have to ask. Virginia will tell you without even a prompt. She turns 101 next month and has raised three children and three step-children. “They were my joy – still are,” she says. “I love them all.”
But if she could go back and do one thing over in her life, there’s no doubt what that would be. “I’d go back to Guilford one more time,” she says. “I made so many great friends and got a wonderful education. I really enjoyed myself there.”
These days Virginia lives in Greenwich, Conn., and enjoys visiting with family and friends. She says her Biology degree from Guilford came in handy in life – and not just working in hospital labs.
“A lot of what I learned at Guilford helped me not just as a career but to raise and take care of my family,” she says.
Virginia lived in Mary Hobbs Hall and loved her time with other students cooking meals and cleaning the building. “Everybody worked together and there was such a strong spirit there,” she says. “But, really, that spirit was spread across the College. I wonder if it’s still that way today. I hope so.”
Virginia says Guilford prepared her for the next 80 years of her life. “I got the education I wanted out of it,” she says. “That’s why I like to give back the way I have.”
Since 1985, Virginia has given generously to The Loyalty Fund. Gifts to the Loyalty Fund can be used by the College where funds are needed most at a particular point in time.
Virginia says she gives because she wants other students to experience everything she received from Guilford. “You support the things that are important to you and Guilford very much remains an important part of my life,” she says. “We’re not here just to collect money. We’re here to be part of society and Guilford, I believe, plays a big role in our society. That’s why I’ll always support my College.”