Wake Forest Athletics
Deacon Sports Xtra: Charest’s Love for Wake Forest Volleyball Continues Off the Court
1/20/2022 12:19:00 PM | Women's Volleyball, Les Johns
A four-sport star in high school, Ginny (Jones) Charest selected Wake Forest as her college destination and set aside athletics for the first semester in Winston-Salem.
"I looked at four schools, mostly driven by family," Charest said. "I grew up in Jacksonville, Florida. I looked at UNC Chapel Hill because my brother swam there. Then I looked at Wake Forest, Presbyterian and Furman. I visited all four and visited with the volleyball teams.
"I played all four sports in high school. Track was actually my best sport and volleyball was a close second. I knew a few people at Wake Forest and had a couple of male classmates who went there. My cousin was a year ahead of me. I walked on and started playing. I enjoyed it, and since I didn't join a sorority, it became the group of people I did things socially with."
Her acceptance into Wake Forest came late in the process, with plans already locked in at Furman.
"I actually didn't get into Wake Forest until a week before school started," Charest said. "I was going to Furman and Furman started classes a month after we did. So, I was actually getting letters from my scheduled roommates at Furman while I was at Wake Forest, that my mother had forwarded."
With limited scholarships and limited resources for the volleyball program in the mid 80's, there was a need for players, and Charest realized she missed the athletic competition.
"I realized I missed it and I walked on the second semester," she said. "They needed people. We weren't much of a team at that point, with limited scholarships. We didn't have much money to spend to bring players to Wake Forest."
One of the highlights for Charest was when the men's basketball team defeated DePaul in the 1984 NCAA Tournament to advance to the Elite Eight.
"We were all rolling the quad, and everyone was screaming and yelling," she said. "Just having the camaraderie and excitement as a school together. There were probably a thousand people. Everyone would pour on the quad. It was a large number of students who would come out there to enjoy themselves. Everyone had been in their rooms watching it on television, then wanted to be together to celebrate."
Charest graduated in 1986 and just one year later Wake Forest abandoned the women's volleyball program, only to have it brought back to life in 1996.
"They got rid of volleyball after I graduated," Charest said. "There was maybe one more year, then they got rid of the program.
"I was very happy when they brought it back and they were putting more emphasis on all the sports. Obviously, the revenue generating sports get more attention, but it was nice that they made it something special. Women's basketball, field hockey and golf were at the forefront for Wake Forest women's sports."
Having experienced the joy of participating in intercollegiate athletics at Wake Forest, and understanding the financial hurdles non-revenue generating sports encounter, Charest has made it her personal mission to help fuel the volleyball program and the student-athletes who become a part of it.
"I felt volleyball needed the money, where other sports didn't," she said. "That became my avenue to contributing when I realized I could be sport-specific.
"I enjoyed the Wake Forest experience academically and socially. I made great friends and loved the small class sizes. You could speak to your teachers and get the help you needed. With not being in a sorority, volleyball was my small niche where I felt I fit in. I've been fortunate, came upon some money and wanted to share it so other people could have the Wake Forest experience if they wished to."
She participates in funding scholarships and special projects.
"I'm all over the board," Charest said about her giving. "I'm hoping to fund more on the scholarship side as I continue.
"We finally have a little bit more equal footing against ACC teams. When we played against UNC during my years, every one of them were on scholarship. It made a big difference, even though we were scrappy. We weren't winning a lot of things, and we didn't get much. It was a bare-bones operation."
That's changed dramatically in recent years, courtesy of investments in the athletic program as a whole coupled with donors like Charest. She's been back on campus recently and was able to tour the Sutton Sports Performance Center.
"There's been a lot of growth," she said. "The facilities are phenomenal, just having the nutrition center and the training."
With the team coming off their first winning season since 2010, the future is looking up for Wake Forest Volleyball.
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"I looked at four schools, mostly driven by family," Charest said. "I grew up in Jacksonville, Florida. I looked at UNC Chapel Hill because my brother swam there. Then I looked at Wake Forest, Presbyterian and Furman. I visited all four and visited with the volleyball teams.
"I played all four sports in high school. Track was actually my best sport and volleyball was a close second. I knew a few people at Wake Forest and had a couple of male classmates who went there. My cousin was a year ahead of me. I walked on and started playing. I enjoyed it, and since I didn't join a sorority, it became the group of people I did things socially with."
Her acceptance into Wake Forest came late in the process, with plans already locked in at Furman.
"I actually didn't get into Wake Forest until a week before school started," Charest said. "I was going to Furman and Furman started classes a month after we did. So, I was actually getting letters from my scheduled roommates at Furman while I was at Wake Forest, that my mother had forwarded."
With limited scholarships and limited resources for the volleyball program in the mid 80's, there was a need for players, and Charest realized she missed the athletic competition.
"I realized I missed it and I walked on the second semester," she said. "They needed people. We weren't much of a team at that point, with limited scholarships. We didn't have much money to spend to bring players to Wake Forest."
One of the highlights for Charest was when the men's basketball team defeated DePaul in the 1984 NCAA Tournament to advance to the Elite Eight.
"We were all rolling the quad, and everyone was screaming and yelling," she said. "Just having the camaraderie and excitement as a school together. There were probably a thousand people. Everyone would pour on the quad. It was a large number of students who would come out there to enjoy themselves. Everyone had been in their rooms watching it on television, then wanted to be together to celebrate."
Charest graduated in 1986 and just one year later Wake Forest abandoned the women's volleyball program, only to have it brought back to life in 1996.
"They got rid of volleyball after I graduated," Charest said. "There was maybe one more year, then they got rid of the program.
"I was very happy when they brought it back and they were putting more emphasis on all the sports. Obviously, the revenue generating sports get more attention, but it was nice that they made it something special. Women's basketball, field hockey and golf were at the forefront for Wake Forest women's sports."
Having experienced the joy of participating in intercollegiate athletics at Wake Forest, and understanding the financial hurdles non-revenue generating sports encounter, Charest has made it her personal mission to help fuel the volleyball program and the student-athletes who become a part of it.
"I felt volleyball needed the money, where other sports didn't," she said. "That became my avenue to contributing when I realized I could be sport-specific.
"I enjoyed the Wake Forest experience academically and socially. I made great friends and loved the small class sizes. You could speak to your teachers and get the help you needed. With not being in a sorority, volleyball was my small niche where I felt I fit in. I've been fortunate, came upon some money and wanted to share it so other people could have the Wake Forest experience if they wished to."
She participates in funding scholarships and special projects.
"I'm all over the board," Charest said about her giving. "I'm hoping to fund more on the scholarship side as I continue.
"We finally have a little bit more equal footing against ACC teams. When we played against UNC during my years, every one of them were on scholarship. It made a big difference, even though we were scrappy. We weren't winning a lot of things, and we didn't get much. It was a bare-bones operation."
That's changed dramatically in recent years, courtesy of investments in the athletic program as a whole coupled with donors like Charest. She's been back on campus recently and was able to tour the Sutton Sports Performance Center.
"There's been a lot of growth," she said. "The facilities are phenomenal, just having the nutrition center and the training."
With the team coming off their first winning season since 2010, the future is looking up for Wake Forest Volleyball.
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