In the lead-up to his class’s twenty-fifth reunion this spring, Will Goodson ’01 wanted to encourage his classmates to step up their investment in a place that has meant so much to them.
“It’s fun to go back for reunion and have those interactions,” Will said. “It’s a special bond we all have, built on a shared experience together. Woodberry made such a positive impact on my life, and that’s why I give and why I go back whenever I can — to honor what we gained from that experience.”
Will decided to challenge his classmates; in the 2025 and 2026 fiscal years, if the class donated a cumulative $75,000 to the Amici Fund before their spring reunion, he would make a $25,000 gift in honor of the twenty-five years since they graduated. While Woodberry has a long tradition of fiftieth reunion classes banding together to make major gifts in honor of that milestone occasion, special twenty-fifth-reunion gifts aren’t as common among Tigers.
Leading the response to Will’s challenge was Rob Chen ‘01, who contributed $25,000 of a planned $100,000 multiyear commitment to help meet the challenge and hopefully inspire others.
“I love that Will stepped up to challenge the class and that I was able to make my own gift,” he said. “I want to be a leader in giving to Woodberry because it’s such an important place to me.”
Reaching the goal became a collaborative effort for the entire class, with Ben Noland ’01 and other class volunteers working hard to secure commitments from classmates and Caldwell Bailey ’01 creating an ongoing class newsletter that kept everyone informed of their progress.
The 2001 Tigers reached their $75,000 goal hours before reunion began thanks to a leadership gift from Fort Parker ’01, allowing Will to make good on his pledge while on campus that weekend. Over the past two fiscal years, the class contributed $100,250 to the Amici Fund. By the close of the 2026 fiscal year, the class had more than doubled its highest-ever level of support for the fund by contributing $67,390, one of the strongest results in school history for a reunion class celebrating something other than fifty years since graduation.
Will was first introduced to Woodberry at a boarding school fair in his hometown of Winston-Salem, though he later learned his grandfather, Bill Goodson, was a member of the class of 1937. Will considered Virginia Episcopal School, where his dad was a boarding student, as well as places like Episcopal and McCallie. But his prospect visit to campus sold him on becoming a Tiger.
“I did an overnight on C Dorm with Brian Booth ’00 and Mike Thomas ’00, and while I don’t remember the details now, I remember we had a really good time,” he said. “So, Brian and Mike are the biggest reason I wound up at WFS.”
Rob came to Woodberry from Orangeburg, South Carolina, where his parents settled after immigrating to the United States from Taiwan in 1964. His older brother, Stephen Chen, was a 1989 Woodberry graduate. While Rob was interested in following his sister to Taft, his parents were convinced the Forest was where he should be.
At Woodberry he was inspired by people like Paul Huber ’68 and Ted Blain, noting how special it was to see Ted — who immediately remembered Rob — at this spring’s reunion.
“I’m passionate about staying connected with and supporting Woodberry because it’s a place that builds character,” Rob said. “The experiences we shared at Woodberry developed strong bonds that truly have lasted a lifetime. The principles of character from the honor system, courage from competing in the field and classroom, and respect and responsibility to one another formed an incredible value system that I live by today.”
Both Will and Rob now work in the financial services industry, Will as the managing partner of Goodson & Nichols Financial Group in Winston-Salem and Rob as a managing director and private wealth advisor of the Chen Group at Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management in New York City.
Rob says the leadership and responsibility he developed as a prefect and captain of the golf team helped him excel as a student-athlete at Brown University and continues to drive him toward professional success.
Will notes that his work as a financial advisor is grounded in building an enduring and trusting relationship with clients while advising them on some of the most consequential financial decisions they will make in life.
“The hardest part of this job is getting someone you don’t know to trust you,” he said. “Once you have earned that trust, the rest of the work is pretty easy. A lot of my appreciation for that came from my family, but it was also molded at Woodberry.”
Will’s work is intertwined with his family life, as his father, Tom, was a cofounder of Goodson & Nichols Financial Group and continues to work with Will.
In wealth management and financial advising, Will noted, many of his conversations with clients focus on planned giving and how they might make a difference for nonprofits that are important to them. Will has taken his own steps in that area and is a member of the Walker Society, which means he has made provisions in his estate plan to support Woodberry.
“We all have things we like to support, and education is one that’s important to me,” Will said. “I give to Woodberry and North Carolina State to honor that, and those are also the places that’ll get additional support when I’m gone.”
Will said the adult who made the greatest impact on him as a student was one of his JV baseball coaches, Byron Hulsey ’86, who at the time was a young history teacher and college counselor. Today, of course, Byron serves as headmaster, and he frequently notes his own student experience was only possible thanks to alumni and other friends of Woodberry who had gone before him and supported the school.
Will, too, recognizes the experience he enjoyed while a student was shaped by people who were making their own Amici gifts twenty-five years ago or who had established endowments that provide enduring support.
“Now we are all paying that forward to the next generation,” he said. “I am giving not just to Amici but also to tuition assistance funds, because I cringe at the thought that a qualified student wouldn’t be able to go to Woodberry because their families can’t afford it. . . . There are a lot of bright boys out there who should go to WFS, and I want us to continue to endow the funds that allow them to.”
Both Will and Rob see this year’s historic Amici Fund accomplishment as something worthy of celebration, but just one chapter in the class of 2001’s ongoing story.
“Woodberry keeps evolving with new technology and with the times, but we always keep a focus on what the most important things are, and you get such wonderful training in how much you can accomplish,” Rob said. “That’s why my feelings toward the school have always been of gratitude and devotion.”