KUDOS April 2019 Travel Issue

Michelle Wulfestieg, third from left, was among several Orange County leaders honored for their philanthropy by the
Association of Fundraising Professionals, Orange County, at its annual 2018 National Philanthropy Day celebration.
CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY ALUMNA MICHELLE WULFESTIEG
HAS TOLD THE STORY OF HER NEAR DEATH MANY TIMES,
BUT TEARS STILL SPRING TO HER EYES WHEN SHE RECOUNTS
THAT WINTER NIGHT IN 2008.
She had just left a print shop with her completed master’s thesis
in hand when she suffered a massive stroke, sparked by a congenital
brain lesion that had caused a childhood stroke that had left her
partially paralyzed.
She remembers a paramedic holding her shoulders, begging her
to hang on. But, the lesion was shutting down her brain. She says a
near-death experience engulfed her, blanketing her in peace and
calm.
“I remember thinking I can’t hang on anymore. This is it. I have to
go. So I went,” says Wulfestieg (M.A. organizational leadership ’08).
“I was completely surrounded by God and it had this beautiful
warm light that surrounded me and I just knew that this is where I
had come from and this is where I now belonged,” she says with an
emotion-filled voice.
But, not just yet, as it turned out. Wulfestieg says she heard what
she believes were prayers and divine assurance guiding her back to
life.
Later, recovery from a coma and brain surgery was nearly
overwhelming. But, as she struggled, the executive director of
Southern California Hospice Foundation had a revelation. This must
be what her clients felt like – wounded, frustrated and in pain. Unlike
hospice patients, though, she was improving and she became
convinced it was the reason for her survival. There was just one thing
to do. Get back to work.
Today, the foundation is growing and serves thousands of
terminally ill children and adults and their families who need financial
help and emotional support. Recently the organization launched a
campaign to build a nonprofit hospice residence in Orange County.
For her work, the Newport Beach resident was named 2018 National
Philanthropy Day Orange County’s Outstanding Founder Award
recipient.
“It was exciting and just such a great honor,” Wulfestieg says.
Among the other honorees were philanthropists Ling and
Charles Zhang, founders of the Pick Up Stix restaurant chain, and
the Ueberroth Family Foundation.
But the day might never have arrived without the support of
her Chapman community, she says. Chapman was a natural
choice for her – she is a member of the Scudder family, which
donated the Albert Schweitzer Collection to the University and
counts many Chapman Panthers among its members. What she
couldn’t possibly anticipate, though, was how friendships forged
in class would help her beyond the classroom.
“You become very close with these people because you share
so much of your life with them,” she says. “They all have the same
passion, the same vision, the same gusto for life and they just
want to make a difference in their organizations, in their
community, in their state, their country and in the world.”
Those friends rallied around during her recovery, as she
worked to regain speech, mobility and strength. Today, some
even serve on the board of her organization.
When commencement arrived, she surprised family,
classmates and even herself. With help, she rose out of her
wheelchair and walked across the stage to receive her diploma.
“I just became determined,” she says.
That turning point still motivates her as she works to make a
difference by helping people receive the best quality of life they
can hope for in their dying days.
“For me, it’s this – don’t wait. You might not make 84. That’s
why I wrote a book, typed with one hand and a damaged brain,
called All We Have is Today. It’s a reminder. There is no guarantee
of tomorrow.”
KUDOS Newport Beach | April 2019 23