While Chad’s wife briefly helped out with the marketing and bookkeeping aspects of the family business, Katie (née Wiegman) Wolfrath’s career journey involved a different kind of growth. 

Enrolling in MLC upon graduation from FVL, Katie trained to become a WELS teacher. Her first call was to teach 4th grade at Bethlehem, Hortonville. Over the years, Katie has taught full time or in a subbing capacity at many school and age levels throughout the Fox River Valley. Since 2020, she’s been back in a classroom full time at Immanuel, Greenville, teaching the level she started with and most enjoys: 4th grade.

Chad and Katie first met at FVL, so for them, the school holds more memories than just the classes, sports, and activities that they participated in. When asked to reflect on his high school experience, Chad admitted, “The teachers really cared about us as students, and I didn’t feel like it was just a job to them. I probably didn’t realize it that much at the time, but looking back now it’s pretty eye opening.” The faith, values, and learning that the Wolfrath’s were exposed to during high school have had a lasting impact on them.

When their children—they have three—reached high school age, they were enrolled in FVL. “This was never even a question for us,” they said. “It was just a given that our kids would attend FVL.”