Marion- In her recent introduction of McDowell Technical Community College’s Staff Member of the Year, Vice-President for Academics and Student Services Valerie Dobson teased the name of the winner to an audience of faculty and staff members who had packed out the college auditorium. “When this individual changed positions in the Spring of 2023,” she said, “we knew she would do great things, but we had no idea that she would breath such life and joy into her new work. From time-to-time, she will share a cup of joe with you, with students or anyone else who enters our bookstore space.”
When she delivered that last line, Dobson effectively identified the winner as Eleanor Woods, the college’s newest bookstore manager. Woods, she said, exhibited true TREKKER spirit and reinvigorated life in the bookstore by consistently providing top-notch customer service. (MTCC students and staff are TREKKERS, named for the school mascot, Mac the Trekker.) This was the second time in as many years that Woods had been nominated for the honor.
Who is Eleanor Woods?
Woods has been a fixture on the MTCC campus since the fall of 2012 when she became a student at the college. Over time, she received two associate degrees from McDowell Tech—an Associate of Science degree in 2015 and an Associate of Applied Science in Computer Information Technology in 2017. After completing her studies at McDowell Tech, Woods went on to attend Grand Canyon University, where she received a Bachelor’s Degree in Educational Studies in December, 2023.
In October, 2016 Woods started working as a peer tutor for students in Math and Chemistry, and in September, 2019 she became a part-time employee in the college’s ARC lab, proctoring tests and helping with other activities as needed.
Working as a peer tutor in Math and Chemistry was sweet irony for Woods, as she struggled with Math as a high school student and had to complete a probationary Math class when she first became a McDowell Tech student. Woods felt generally well prepared as a homeschool student from elementary through middle and high school, but she felt that the Math curriculum she had in high school was weak and difficult to understand.
When she took her first Math class with Jennifer Culp at McDowell Tech, she had a eureka experience of sorts. Culp, said Woods, “…rebuilt the foundation I had in Algebra so that I could better understand higher-level concepts in Math. Because of her, I learned to love math again. She got me excited about it! In fact, after I had taken the required Math classes for my degree, I even took Statistics and Chemistry—which has lots of Math in it—as electives. And I made straight A’s!”
As a tutor, Eleanor tried to inspire that same level of confidence and understanding in her tutees. In fact, after she became a full-time Assistant in Student Services in July of 2020, she continued to tutor students from time-to-time and now does private tutoring in Math.
In the spring of 2023, after nearly three years in Student Services, Woods became manager of the college bookstore following the retirement of former manager Gwen Reeves. It was not an entirely new experience for her, as Woods had assisted Reeves in the bookstore on a part-time basis while she was working in Student Services.
Woods’ philosophy of quality customer service as Bookstore Manager is what clinched her nomination as 2024 Staff Member of the Year. “I like retail work,” she said, “but more importantly, I want students to have the same type of personal service and positive experience that I felt when I was a student here. I try to greet people with a smile and make them feel important.”
In addition to managing the bookstore, Woods is also in charge of shipping and receiving and sorts campus mail for instructors and staff.
Outside of Work
Woods and her parents, Bryan and Maria Woods, moved to McDowell County from Black Mountain when she was in second grade and have lived here ever since. She has attended Grace Community Church for several years.
“I’m a big nerd!,” said Woods. “In my spare time, I like playing card games, video games, drawing and painting—art stuff. I also love going to Comic-con!” Comic-con is a convention for comic book fans.
“McDowell Tech would not be the excellent institution that it is without devoted, hard-working individuals like Eleanor Woods,” said Dr. J.W. Kelley, MTCC President. “She is always looking for new ways to offer more services in the bookstore and to better serve our students through efficient service and lower prices, when possible. She has worked with other staff to make the bookstore more inviting, from new displays to a comfortable reading area with ambient music. For these and many other reasons, we are pleased to name her as the 2024 Staff Member of the Year. Congratulations, Eleanor!”
