Written by Indunil Ugoda Arachi
Introducing himself at Seattle Central College’s annual Student Leadership Training Program, Dr. Johnny C. Woods Jr. said he enjoys traveling and visiting educational institutions in various states of the country. I briefly mentioned that So Seattle University Paper began asking him for more details about his trip and the purpose of the ritual.
Currently, Dr. Johnny C. Woods Jr. is Executive Director of Campus Operations and Director of the Office of Budget and Finance at Seattle Central. He oversees the Facilities Department, which is responsible for infrastructure, capital projects, building maintenance, and repairs. However, during his long educational journey that began in his native Liberia, he encountered many challenges.
first half of the trip
“It was a bit of a rough start,” Dr. Woods recalls. “I graduated high school as a refugee.” During his childhood, he experienced civil war and civil war in his home country of Liberia, and became a refugee. During this period of instability, he had to complete several stages of his education both abroad and at home. He earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology in Liberia and then a master’s degree in education in Uganda.
Similarly, Dr. Woods begins his professional journey in the field of education with the Liberian Ministry of Education. After working there for several years, I moved to higher education and after spending some time at a university in Liberia, I decided to pursue a PhD at Virginia Tech in the United States. “When I was pursuing my degree in higher education, I had already worked in higher education for 13 years,” Dr. Woods said. Therefore, he approached his doctoral program with a good understanding of what it was trying to accomplish.
Towards Seattle Central College
Despite receiving numerous offers from various institutions, including universities, Dr. Woods chose to accept the position at Seattle Central College. “Nothing has been fabricated yet. I was about four months away from becoming an assistant professor at a research institution, but I left that and came here,” Dr. Woods says.
Indunil Ugoda Arachchi | Dr. Johnny C. Woods Jr. of Seattle University, in his office at Seattle Central College
As a former first-generation college student, he believes attending a community college is critical to getting the job he wants. He claims to use his experience with passion and motivation to help develop the next generation and help students find their purpose in life.
Dr. Woods has come a long way since beginning his career in higher education, which now spans more than 20 years. “So that’s my discipline, my field,” he says. “And as a result of being involved in that field, I found great satisfaction in being in a university environment.”
travel and ritual
Dr. Woods loves traveling as a personal hobby. The most interesting thing is that as part of his travels, he always tries to visit higher education institutions such as community colleges, campuses, and universities. “I’m on a personal adventure visiting all 50 states and territories in the United States,” he says. “So as of today, just four or five weeks ago, I’m 40th out of 50 states. I’ve probably looked at over 60 institutions so far.”
In his view, visiting different educational institutions is like a ritual during the trip. “It’s part of my ritual, and if I can visit educational or higher education institutions, I feel satisfied and accomplished while traveling,” he says.
Nevertheless, he has an incredible reason to follow the ritual wherever he travels. “What good ideas are out there that you might be able to borrow and recreate on your own campus,” he says, explaining the reasoning behind this. He tries to find out how people are doing things differently than we do at Seattle Central College, and he tries to implement those better ideas at Central as well.
During a recent trip to Austin, Texas, I visited Austin Community College and began borrowing ideas for digitized navigation systems, large digital screens, digital tablet systems, and more. In his view, modernizing the university’s infrastructure is critical to improving student life. He is currently moving towards realizing the ideas he witnessed during his visit.
Considering his own trajectory and hardships, he can see the value of college and how its impact changes people’s lives. “I have known and experienced the value of education. It is a means of transformation and a means of social and economic mobility. As a first-generation college student, I have seen them manifest in my life. ” concluded Dr. Woods.
