Dr. Caryl Guth, a small-town girl from Elkin, NC, is one tough cookie. Her inspiring story is too long to consolidate for this brief introduction; nevertheless, let me give you a glimpse into the lady behind all the accolades.

Caryl’s father, a Baptist minister, was athletic in his early years, and her mother, a businesswoman, excelled in gardening, crafts, and business. Caryl knew from an early age that she wanted to be a doctor so she could help people in the mission field; however, in the 1960s, women doctors were not mainstream.

When she graduated from high school, her first choice of college was Wake Forest University. After failing to get accepted in her first application, Caryl attended Mars Hill for two years and excelled as a student, athlete, and dorm president. Her academic challenges with essay-style testing were due to dyslexia, a condition that was not medically known at the time. She excelled with all her exams with the exception of essay responses. Caryl graduated from Wake Forest after being accepted as a junior. She attended medical school at Bowman Gray and interned at Kansas University Medical Center, where she gained recommendations from faculty and staff. She chose anesthesiology for her specialty, and the best program in the country at that time was at Penn. She was accepted because of the accolades from doctors and professors at K.U.M.C. She developed cutting-edge techniques taught by pioneers in her field and earned respect from attending doctors and her peers.

Caryl’s sports dexterity transferred to the operating room, and doctors noticed her unique skills. When she finished her internship at Penn, she could have gone to work anywhere. Her résumé was bursting with honors and recommendations, and Wake Forest was quick to make her an offer to come home. After being turned down as an undergrad and again when applying for an internship at Wake, Caryl was honored to get the offer to come back home to Wake. Despite the flattering offer, she chose to go out west to the Bay Area because the opportunity was a better fit.

Three-plus decades later, and a career filled with accomplishments too numerous to mention, Caryl lost her husband to an acute medical anomaly and found herself planning for her future.

Dr. Guth had already sponsored the Integrative Medicine facility at Wake Forest, so it was a great fit to come home to Wake Forest. She moved to Bermuda Village retirement community in part because of the outstanding fitness program and the desire to have peace of mind knowing she could age in place with no worries of future healthcare needs. During this time, Caryl has not slowed down. She has been very active at Wake Forest and has multiple athletic scholarships in her name.

Wake Forest President Susan Wente raved about the facilities while thanking Dr. Guth for her contributions. “Thank you so much," Wente said. "In addition to your pioneering medical work and the advocacy you've continued to support, you've also focused on improving the lives of student-athletes. This will help with recruitment, retention, relationship-building, and with our programs' prestige. It will also help us win championships on the court. I can't wait to see what we achieve this year." (Les Johns, 10-13-2022).
https://godeacs.com/news/2022/10/12/womens-basketball-coming-a-long-way-guths-philanthropy-provides-bright-future-for-womens-basketball

Caryl has many talents, and her passion for gardening is evident by her immaculately kept landscape at her villa. Back in 2017, she was approached by Gene Hooks to be on the first Garden Committee. The plan was to take a piece of property referred to as “the weed garden” and transform it into a Japanese-inspired garden. Caryl contributed her time and money to help see the project through. As the final plans for the new entrance to the garden were being planned, Dr. Hooks reached out for her feedback. Caryl made changes in the contractor being considered and presented an option of a Japanese gate. Both were adopted, and the Japanese gate is the staple of the new entrance.

Dr. Guth is an icon in her medical profession and a highly respected alumna at Wake Forest. She is just Caryl to us here at Bermuda Village; nonetheless, when you get to know her, it is crystal clear—she is one tough cookie!