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“The girls were always on
campus with me. … We
would walk around the
campus, and they loved it.
So when they chose to go
there, I think they just felt
right at home.”
Judy Eagle Shelton ’98
Judy Eagle Shelton ’98 smiles
brightly, clearly enjoying her
job hosting the morning radio
show with her husband Kenny on
108 WYYD-FM Country. Shelton,
who graduated from the College
with a communication degree and
a teaching certificate, has always
loved radio and has passed that
passion on to her daughters.
But radio is not the only thing
the Shelton family shares. Kayse
Shelton ’10 graduated from the
College in May with a double major
in political science and psychology,
and Lauren Shelton ’12 is currently
studying studio art.
Shelton could not be happier.
Twelve years ago, she earned her
degree after returning to college
as an adult student.
“The girls were always on
campus with me,” Shelton
recalled. “Kenny would meet me
down there, and I would bring the
girls, and we would have dinner
in the cafeteria. We would walk
around the campus, and they
loved it. So when they chose to go
there, I think they just felt right
at home.”
Kayse considered other
schools during her college search.
But as the deadline drew near to
commit to a college, the Sheltons
made a visit to campus.
“We sat there in those chairs
in front of Leggett, and we were
just talking,” Judy Shelton said.
“And Kayse said ‘This feels right.’
I think that’s how it is for many
students. They walk on campus,
and it just feels right.”
The characteristics Shelton
found at her alma mater remain
the same for her daughters.
“Academically, it was rigorous,
but you really do feel like you know
your professors, and they get to
know you,” she said.
After graduation, Shelton
spent nearly a decade teaching
at a local middle school. But she
missed radio. So in 2008, she went
back on the air. “It’s a dream come
true,” Shelton said.
She is pleased her daughters
found a home at Randolph
College.
Kayse said her professors held
students accountable.
“That’s something that I really
like about them. And they’re really
friendly. I always felt comfortable
asking them questions or e-mailing
them,” she said.
Lauren knew from her mother
and sister that her classes and
instructors were going to be
challenging.
“As far as the professors and
the classes go, it’s what I expected,”
she said.
Just like their parents, Kayse
and Lauren have been bitten by the
radio bug. Kayse works part-time at
WYYD while she contemplates law
school and charts her own career
path. Lauren had her own show
last school year on Randolph’s
radio station, WWRM, known as
The Worm. “I’ll probably do that
again [this year],” she said.
Sharing the College’s
traditions has given the Shelton
women a unique bond. Lauren
even served as her sister’s squire at
Commencement in May.
“It’s special for me because my
mom went there and Kayse went
there,” she said.
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