Bruce Prentiss Woods ’90, ’95, was the first African-American student elected as president of Winthrop’s Student Government Association in spring 1989. During his time as student body president, he served as the student representative on Winthrop’s Board of Trustees.
He earned his B.A. in history and political science (double major) and a M.A.T. in secondary education. After graduation, he volunteered with Winthrop’s Alumni Career Network. Woods later earned a master’s degree in French history at Vanderbilt University; a degree in social studies education from the University of Georgia; and a certificate in Middle Eastern history from Exeter College, University of Oxford.
The Ladson, S.C., resident teaches social studies at Alston Middle School in Summerville, S.C. In 2013-14, he was named Dorchester District Two’s 2013-2014 Teacher of the Year for AMS. He taught previously in Charleston County, S.C., and in Rock Hill, and he also spent one summer in China, where he worked as the English administrator for a middle school. In addition, Woods worked with the S.C. State Department of Education as a social studies specialist. In 2007, SC-ETV cast him as the teacher in one of the station’s documentaries about the Civil Rights Movement in South Carolina.
Woods’ work in the classroom has earned him a number of prestigious accolades, including Fulbright fellowships to South Africa (2006) and Turkey/Greece (2011). Additional fellowships have taken him to Ecuador, Germany, South Korea, the Middle East (Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain) and Austria.