Look­ing Ahead
BY JENNIFER TELLES ’09

Ali­son and Brad Gude­man with their boys, seven-year-old Maxwell and five-year-old Spencer.

After 11 years of mar­riage, Brad Gude­man ’95 and Alli­son (Sny­der) Gude­man ’98 both recall their Wes­ley Col­lege days as the most influ­en­tial time in their lives. Hav­ing met at Wes­ley dur­ing Allison’s fresh­man year and Brad’s senior year, the two knew they were des­tined for each other from the start. “Allison’s entire col­lege expe­ri­ence reflected our rela­tion­ship,” remem­bered Brad. “We were engaged in Allison’s junior year and mar­ried three months after she graduated.”

Yet, the fond Wes­ley mem­o­ries the Gude­mans hold do not just include their courtship. Both were cap­ti­vated by what Wes­ley Col­lege offered as a whole. “We were drawn to Wes­ley for its small class size, teacher to stu­dent ratio, and close prox­im­ity to our fam­i­lies,” Alli­son rem­i­nisced. Brad had been recruited by an upper­class­man who had participat­ed in the Wes­ley Col­lege ambas­sador pro­gram and Alli­son was intro­duced to the Col­lege through the guid­ance coun­selor at her high school. Both knew that Wes­ley had exactly what they were seek­ing in a college.

Both Alli­son and Brad were active par­tic­i­pants in the Wes­ley Col­lege com­mu­nity and gained expe­ri­ences that fos­tered their devel­op­ment and pre­pared them for the profes­sional realm. Dur­ing his sopho­more year, Brad pledged Alpha Phi Delta. He stated, “The bond of broth­er­hood with col­lege friends extended well beyond my col­lege years.” Alli­son grad­u­ated with a degree in ele­men­tary edu­ca­tion and has since used her skill-set as a child­care direc­tor and substi­tute teacher in the Bal­ti­more County Pub­lic School Dis­trict. She has also been an edu­ca­tor at her local church. Brad is cur­rently an owner in a com­mer­cial mod­u­lar build­ing con­struc­tion com­pany known as Mod­u­lar Genius, Inc. He attrib­utes his abil­ity to run a busi­ness to the fun­da­men­tals he learned at Wes­ley. “Dr. Jacobs thor­oughly chal­lenged all busi­ness majors and truly pre­pared them for the real world,” he noted.

Feel­ing that they owe much of their suc­cess to their Wes­ley edu­ca­tion, Alli­son and Brad have recently joined other ded­i­cated alumni and friends in finan­cially sup­port­ing the Col­lege. As new mem­bers of The Wes­ley Soci­ety, the Gude­mans believe in the College’s mis­sion and have pledged to become part­ners through their involve­ment and finan­cial sup­port. They were proud to make their first major gift to help main­tain Wesley’s proud tra­di­tions and pro­vide oppor­tunities for future gen­er­a­tions. “With­out Wes­ley our life together would have never hap­pened and our busi­ness oppor­tu­ni­ties would have never come to fruition,” said Alli­son. “Giv­ing to The Wes­ley Soci­ety is a sat­is­fy­ing way to give back what Wes­ley has given to us.”

The Gude­mans were pleased to be updated on cam­pus devel­op­ments and view a glimpse of the new mas­ter plan dur­ing a recent meet­ing with Chris Wood, vice pres­i­dent for insti­tu­tional advance­ment. “The poten­tial growth in the next 10 years is very excit­ing,” stated Brad. “Already, since the 10 years of our grad­u­a­tions, the changes that have occurred on cam­pus are amaz­ing.” The Gude­mans con­tinue to stay con­nected with fel­low grad­u­ates through annual Home­com­ing events and stay abreast of cam­pus and alumni news through Wes­ley magazine.

Enthu­si­as­tic about the vision for Wesley’s future and eager to demon­strate their sup­port to make it pos­si­ble, the Gude­mans encour­age their peers to do the same. Alli­son expressed, “It is a great way to sup­port our Col­lege and get recon­nected. Go Wolverines!”

To learn more about The Wes­ley Soci­ety click here.