Adult Degree Program

Randall Wright ’19: Student, Athlete, Soldier

Randall Wright ’19 is not your typical college track and field athlete. He is a full-time student in Oglethorpe’s Adult Degree Program, while serving as a specialist in the Georgia National Guard. 

Randall has been active in track and field since middle school and wanted to continue running throughout his college career. He reached out to Head Track Coach Kirk Shellhouse, who welcomed Randall’s enthusiasm and helped guide him though the admission process.

A business major, Randall chose Oglethorpe because the flexibility of the Adult Degree Program allows him to pursue his degree while fulfilling his military duties and his commitment to the track team. “It’s all about time management and prioritizing,” Randall says of juggling his responsibilities. “I will study for three hours, then I will practice for three hours.”

Coach Shellhouse recognizes Randall’s dedication to Oglethorpe and the team. “He does a great job at leading by example and he understands the commitment that the Track & Field team requires of student-athletes, and he helps his younger teammates learn this relationship.”

Randall’s professors, coaches and other Oglethorpe staff have been a tremendous help to him from the beginning, he says, because “they have high hopes for me and make sure that I’m doing what I’m supposed to do academically.”

After graduation, Randall hopes to open a track and field gym for underprivileged high school students who have the potential to attend Division I schools, but do not have the resources they need to succeed.

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Randall participated in the 2016 Petrels of Fire race, part of the university’s annual Oglethorpe Day celebration.

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