Thomas Stone High School junior DeJuan Woods is not only preparing for Advanced Placement (AP) exams and researching colleges, he is preparing to take on a new role next month: Student Member to the Board of Education of Charles County. Woods was selected by a group of his peers to serve as the Student Member to the Board for the 2019-20 school year. He will be sworn in at the Board’s June 11 meeting.
Woods said he is excited for the chance to give students a voice. “I look forward to connecting with more students. To give a voice to those students who are dormant in the county and are not involved in leadership roles or activities. I want to make those without a voice heard,” Woods said.
During the final meeting for this year’s Charles County Association of Student Councils (CCASC), student delegates heard from two candidates interested in the position. Woods’ campaign focused on mental health and encouraged students to work together to make change. “My campaign was ‘Our Time is Now’ … we can’t go back and change what has happened in the past. But we can change what is happening now,” Woods said.
He joined student government in middle school as a sixth grader because he wanted to be involved. He credits his former advisor at John Hanson Middle School for helping him to develop a love for student government. “Mr. Brashears was the advisor at John Hanson. He made you want to be involved,” Woods said.
In addition to his role as Student Member to the Board, Woods is an honor-roll student with a current GPA of 4.6. He is enrolled in three AP classes, completed one last year and is set to take an additional three as a senior. He is the current Student Government Association (SGA) and National Honor Society (NHS) president and was previously a regional CCASC officer.
Woods is also heavily involved in the theater program at Stone. He is a dedicated member of the thespian Troop 1445 and serves as troop treasurer. Next year, Woods will return as NHS president and has secured a position as the Maryland Association of Student Councils (MASC) workshop coordinator. He is already researching plans for after graduation and is interested in studying music education to become a choral director. Woods said he is also considering minoring in theater and possibly becoming a teacher or school administrator someday.
Woods said he looks forward to his swearing in next month and the opportunity to provide the student perspective. Additionally, he plans to relaunch a student member advisory council with a goal of focusing on mental health education. “I want to integrate the advisory council at all schools and have more students serve. I look forward to sharing student input,” Woods said.