SMU A LUM P ROFI L E
TIP WONHOFF '07 I
t was Tip Wonhoff’s first day on campus, freshmen move-in day, and as expected he was nervous about beginning the next phase of his life. His parents, who were there to help him move into his new dorm room, suggested a walk around Saint Martin’s University to relax his nerves. It was on this stroll that we ran into the school’s new music director, Darrell Born. “(He) asked if I had any interest or experience with music. I said that I had been in band and choir in high school, and he lit up,” Wonhoff said. “There, in a parking lot in the middle of campus, he asked me to join the choir program he was trying to build. In the moment, I was hesitant to commit to anything, not knowing how much extra time and bandwidth I might have to commit to choir as a new freshman, especially given that choir was an activity I’d had no intention of doing.” They parted with Wonhoff letting Born know that “I’d think about his proposal and I went on my day.” Wonhoff would run into Born periodically around campus over the next few weeks
Tip Wonhoff '07, Deputy General Counsel to Washington State Governor Jay Inslee
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www.stmartin.edu
“Each time we passed, he greeted me with a smile, asked how I was adjusting to college life, and enthusiastically reminded me of his standing invitation to join the choir,” Wonhoff said. “Later that autumn semester, I dropped in to visit a choir practice, still unsure whether it was for me. Darrell welcomed me with warmth
