Alumni Spotlight: Elizabeth (Libby) Hipple, Class of 2019
Libby is the third in her family to graduate from VWU, following in the footsteps of brothers Britton and Nicholas
University News | May 15, 2024
Originally from Pittsburgh, PA, Libby Hipple is currently in her fourth year of teaching high school science. A chemistry major who graduated from Virginia Wesleyan in 2019, Hipple continued her education at Virginia Tech, earning a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction. Libby is the third in her family to graduate from Virginia Wesleyan, following in the footsteps of brothers Britton Hipple ’16 and Nicholas Hipple ’18. She now has students from the school where she is teaching attending Virginia Wesleyan!
We asked her to reflect on her time at Virginia Wesleyan University.
While at VWU, what activities were you engaged in?
I was involved in Young Life, Marlin Ministries, Student Activities and Student Government.
What was your favorite place on campus?
My favorite place on campus had to be Batten Center. Whether I was there for a game, a Thursday lunch, or a ping pong tournament, there was always fun to be had and people to talk to.
What inspired you to major in chemistry?
As a kid, I was always curious about the world. I spent hours outside every day catching bugs, collecting rocks and mixing up yummy mudpies. I loved knowing how the world worked. As I got older, my hobbies revolved more around cooking and baking. I loved not following the recipe and just exploring new ways to achieve yummy items. In college, I developed a hobby in ceramics after taking a ceramics class. It too was based in chemistry, as the firing of glazes is organic chemistry based. Chemistry is a way for me to “pick apart the world” into its smallest fundamental unit, the atom. It allows me to explore the smallest parts of the world that have an effect on the bigger things. Chemistry tied together my first loves of nature, cooking, and ceramics.
How did your time at Virginia Wesleyan most impact your success?
VWU encouraged me to get out of my shell. Coming into college, I had terrible social anxiety. Once in college, I was constantly pushed out of my comfort zone. In Young Life, I was challenged to mentor students in middle school, which meant being silly and putting myself out there with preteens. I also was involved in undergraduate research where we were given the opportunity to fly to Boston and present at the EPA conference about our research. This helped me to become a confident educator who is confident in my voice and knowledge.
What is one of your best memories of your time at VWU?
My best memory at VWU came in my freshman year-- second semester, I chose to attend a late-night event called Glow-In-The-Dark Ultimate Frisbee. This was one of the greatest decisions of my life. I met my best friends at that event! So get out there and participate in events and put yourself out there.
Were there professors who had a significant impact on you:
Dr. Phillip Guilfoyle was my ceramics professor. He encouraged me to explore how chemistry and ceramics intersected and allowed me access to his materials to conduct independent research outside of the scope of an introductory ceramics course. Because of his encouragement, I ended up completing two different independent studies that combined ceramics and chemistry, which I was able to present at PORT Day in 2019.
According to Professor Guilfoyle, there is now a much loved yellow glaze for ceramics called "Libby's Yellow", a glaze developed through research Libby did with him in the VWU studio.