By Kalena Reynolds | Staff Writer
While most lose the time or become apathetic to continue their passions into their adult careers, Stanley Wilfong, undergraduate program director of nutrition sciences, has never lost sight of what he loves. Wilfong, has created a life of fulfillment and creativity in every aspect of his work.
In sixth grade, Wilfong was approached by his school’s orchestra director in the hallway. The director noticed his large hands and asked him if he would want to play upright bass.
“It was just almost a natural fit for me, Wilfong said.” “I was always one of the biggest kids in my class. I had large hands, it just kind of came natural to me.”
Eventually, Wilfong made his way to the guitar after a friend showed him a few chords. After that, he picked up the bass guitar to play in a rock band with his friends in high school. Being primarily self-taught, Wilfong started his journey of learning guitar by leading youth ministry and learning worship songs.
“When the internet came around, which was after college for me, I started getting involved in youth ministry,” Wilfong said. “At that point, they had people who were posting guitar chords and cover sheets for songs and stuff like that.”
Wilfong was also inspired to learn the music that he had heard his parents playing on an 8-track. The 8-track tape was a cartridge containing a recorded spool of tape that would be pulled from the center of the reel, passed across the opening at one end of the cartridge, and wound back onto the outside of the same reel. The tape was driven by the tension in the capstan and pinch roller and would turn at a constant rate to play the music that was recorded onto the tape.
“We just bought a brand new car,’ Wilfong said. “It was an Oldsmobile, and it came with an 8-track tape. So we listened to this 8-track tape over and over and over. And some of the songs I do today were on that 8-track tape, and I remember hearing them on the radio. So that’s kind of why I got interested in doing secular music.”
While Wilfong’s passion for music has been unrequited since sixth grade, he loves nutrition just as much and said that he wants “to die during a lecture.”
“People want to die doing something they really enjoy,” Wilfong said. “If you’re going to go out, go out doing something you really enjoy. And I tell my students every semester, it’s like my way of going out; I want to be in front of a class lecturing and going on a rant about Dr. Oz and his nutrition.”
Wilfong said he used to weigh 300 lbs and, at 18 years old, turned to unhealthy methods of weight loss due to a lack of nutrition knowledge to slim down.
“I was heavy since the time I was six years old, and struggling with weight all the way until, well, I still struggle with it,” Wilfong said.
During this time of weight loss, Wilfong also developed a passion for nutrition. At the time, he was majoring in computer science until his senior year, when he switched to nutrition. Throughout this time, Wilfong never lost his love for music and now plays gigs on a regular basis.
“Every Wednesday night, I play at Segovia Wine Bar, which is downtown, off of Sixth Street, about a half a block from Magnolia,” Wilfong said.
Segovia Wine Bar is owned by Wilfong’s long-time friend and gig partner, Armando Fajardo.
The pair met through a mutual friend who was also a musician and called in help for a church event. “Whenever he asked me to go help and fill in and play for this event, it was at the church that Stan is currently doing the praise and worship at. So that’s how I first met him, and we just bonded over music and enjoyed each other’s company.”
As a business owner and former touring musician, Fajardo is incredibly passionate about having music at Segovia Wine Bar and loves having Wilfong’s support while doing so.
“It’s hard to put into words what it means to have him here to do that for us, to help, contribute to the success of my business and what we’re doing here, and trying to educate people and bring experiences to Waco and to show that there’s more to Waco, to people who visit Waco, then, then just tacos and barbecue,” Fajardo said.
