New Fund Helps Small-Town Carolina Boys

Former roommates Ben Wall ’94 and Trey Dempsey ’94 were like so many Woodberry boys before and after them: young men from small towns in the South who were brought together by the school, became roommates, and formed a lifelong bond.

They were both prefects and played together on the varsity football team. Ben also wrestled, while Trey played lacrosse.

Trey Dempsey ’94 and Ben Wall ’94

And in recent years the pair have become increasingly interested in ensuring that boys and families with backgrounds similar to their own are able to afford a

Woodberry education.

“Both of us are from small towns and appreciate what Woodberry did for us in terms of high-quality opportunities,” says Ben, a native of Conway, South

Carolina. “We think it’s beneficial to Woodberry to have boys from small communities studying alongside boys from large cities, both in the United

States and overseas.”

Trey has a similar story. He came to Woodberry from Rocky Mount, North Carolina.

“My dad was a dentist,” Trey says. “So we were doing fine as a family, but we weren’t rich. Even so, a Woodberry education was possible for me. Ben and I have worried that Woodberry’s price would be impractical for families from the school’s historic recruiting grounds, especially small towns,” he says.

“One morning Ben and I were eating breakfast together and realized we could combine forces and contribute to a fund that would address this.”

Today the two are active volunteers, supporting Woodberry in their cities and rallying classmates to support the school in a powerful way. This year they created the Carolinas Scholarship Fund. They and other members of the class of 1994 have committed roughly $500,000 and hope over time to grow the fund to $5 million, Trey says. Need-based tuition assistance grants from the fund will support students from rural areas of North Carolina and South Carolina.

Ben and Trey share the school’s goal of fully endowing tuition assistance, and they’re eager to see more alumni join them. They’re also excited that classmates with similar stories have responded to their effort and are eager to see other North Carolina and South Carolina alumni of all ages join the cause.

“A lot of really successful Woodberry graduates come from small towns and benefited tremendously from their education,” Trey said. “We want this to be a model for other regions.”