Bringing Their “A” Game

Wilmington University students Abigail, Amy and Angeline Chomo work, compete and study together.

Famous sisters include the writing Brontes, the Schuyler sisters — made famous in “Hamilton” — and the acting Olsens. Now, Wilmington University has its own sister set: Abigail (Abby), Amy, and Angeline (Angie) Chomo are students who work there. On the track & field and cross-country teams, they’re triple-threat Wildcats. They’re also roommates in a Newark apartment.

The Chomos don’t see anything unusual about their togetherness. “It feels pretty natural to me,” Amy says. They were all in high school at the same time and played soccer and basketball and ran track. “It’s what I’ve known my whole life, and we’ve been blessed to continue that in college,” Angie says.

Abby blazed the path to Delaware when she enrolled at WilmU following two years at Salem County Community College (SCC).

“I knew I wanted to stay close to home, and I’m paying for school with scholarships and work,” says Abby, whose parents have a small chicken farm in Lower Alloways Creek, a township in Salem County, New Jersey. “I didn’t want to take out a loan.”

Her SCC advisor recommended WilmU, and Abby was pleasantly surprised with the course cost. The accomplished high school athlete didn’t plan on being a student-athlete until she landed on the Track and Field page on the website. A scholarship sweetened the appeal. 

After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Business Management, Abby is pursuing a master’s in Business Administration with a concentration in Nonprofit Management. 

Meanwhile, Amy was in contact with the WilmU track team before leaving SCC. As for academics, she appreciated that the College of Business has a Sports Management concentration. She applied for and received WilmU’s Presidential Scholarship, which was given to one SCC graduate. 

“I was blessed and honored to receive the award,” she says. “These factors, as well as a lot of prayer, ultimately led me to choose WilmU as my home for the next two years — and I am very glad I did.”

After seeing Abby’s experience, Angie elected to spend all four years at WilmU. “She had been able to work a part-time job at WilmU while finishing her education and competing collegiately,” says Angie, a Health Sciences major focusing on Fitness. Angie wanted the same opportunities, and “it is where God has called me to be,” she says.

The sisters opted to pay for classes by working part-time at the University. Abby is an administrative assistant in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. Angie is a Student Life associate, and Amy is an administrative assistant in the College of Education and Liberal Arts.

Although they’ve taken many online classes, they’ve built relationships with their track & field and cross-country teams. “I love the team and the environment,” Abby says. The assistant coaches are “some of the most amazing people I’ve met in my life.”

Angie says that being a college athlete has helped her grow while achieving her academic goals. Plus, she can travel to meets.

The three aren’t the only Chomo siblings with names that start with an A. Alyssa and Amanda are the oldest. Steven, the youngest, is an exception to the As. He is named for his father and grandfather. However, his middle name is Andrew. 

Amy considers her sisters her best friends. “My life is infinitely better with them in it,” she says. “I think we will look back on this part of our lives with a lot of gratitude.”  

— Pam George