David Schultheis '74 knew Hampden-Sydney felt right the moment he first visited campus. “My father graduated from Washington & Lee, which was where I thought I wanted to go,” Schultheis recalls. He immediately changed his mind after a campus tour of Hampden-Sydney during his senior year of high school.
Those feelings of belonging grew stronger for Schultheis during his four years and remain steadfast to this day. “I built lifelong friendships with classmates and my Theta Chi fraternity brothers. I call them my rusty friends,” he laughs. “We get together often, and the best part is we still see each other the way we were back then.
"Another one of the things that makes Hampden-Sydney special is the relationships we had with faculty like Professor of Bible Charles McRae, Elliott Emeritus Professor of History Jim Simms, Squires Professor Emeritus of History Ron Heinemann, and former Dean of Students Lewis Drew that continued long after graduation,” he continues. "My late wife Kathy (a Longwood alumna) and I were married by Professor of Religion Owen Norment."
Schultheis majored in history and religion and spent his career in finance. He credits his liberal arts education with helping him succeed. “There were many times I made business decisions based on the critical thinking skills that people who went to other schools weren’t taught. The differences at Hampden-Sydney are a real selling point and define our worth.”
Schultheis wants to recognize the important place Hampden-Sydney holds in his life and has included the College in his estate plan. “I’m not wealthy—I had a regular job and made regular money; my support up to this point has been with gifts to the Annual Fund,” he shared. “I don’t know what I’ll need later in life or what will be left after I’m gone, but Hampden-Sydney will get a percentage. Every dollar counts.”
Celebrating his 50th reunion this year, Schultheis is thinking fondly about the past while looking hopefully to the future. He and his second wife, Judy, share nine grandchildren, and there’s hope that maybe one of the boys will want to attend Hampden-Sydney.
“When you get older, you start to think about more long-term things,” Schultheis said. “One of my favorite quotes is from T.S. Eliot’s poem Little Gidding: ‘And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.’
“For where we are in life,” Schultheis says, “I think that’s perfect.”
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