{"id":50623,"date":"2023-05-15T10:55:39","date_gmt":"2023-05-15T14:55:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/?p=50623"},"modified":"2023-08-11T08:06:31","modified_gmt":"2023-08-11T12:06:31","slug":"roshonda-woods-a-community-leader-at-utc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2023\/05\/roshonda-woods-a-community-leader-at-utc\/","title":{"rendered":"Roshonda Woods: A community leader at UTC"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Roshonda

Roshonda Woods, solid waste manager for CHAPublicWorks, is pursuing her bachelor’s degree in the UTC BAS-AL program. Photo by Angela Foster.<\/p><\/div>\n

Chattanooga\u2019s first female and first African American solid waste manager, Roshonda Woods, is working to further her career through the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.<\/span><\/p>\n

Born and raised in Dewberry, Georgia, a small town 30 minutes south of Chattanooga, she moved to the city 25 years ago. She has been working for that city for 20 of those years.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s been busy from the start. She was one of four individuals to implement Chattanooga\u2019s first 311 line\u2014a non-emergency phone number that people can call to report various types of issues or ask for information from their local government. Five years ago, she became the city\u2019s solid waste manager and now oversees 52 team members.<\/p>\n

Woods has to remain adaptable as each day brings new responsibilities. \u201cWe are the only department that touches all 75,000 residents that we serve every day, so there is always a new challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n

As if serving approximately 75,000 residents isn\u2019t enough, Woods is also the manager of two kids and a husband. Somewhere in between her busy work and home life, she has found the time to pursue her education.<\/p>\n

She chose to enroll in UTC\u2019s budding Bachelor of Applied Science in Applied Leadership (BAS-AL) program. The BAS-AL is built around working professionals who want to further their education despite busy schedules.<\/p>\n

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Dr. David W. Rausch, associate dean of the College of Health, Education and Professional Studies and BAS-AL program director, described the program as \u201ca viable path forward for anyone who has started a college education and maintains a desire to finish it, regardless of background or personal motivation.\u201d<\/p>\n

The program helps students \u201cdevelop the skills and knowledge they need to solve problems, communicate effectively, resolve conflict, and assess effectiveness in diverse environments,\u201d said Rausch.<\/p>\n

Students come from a variety of backgrounds such as, \u201ccommunity college students who have earned an associate degree and wish to further their education, veterans and service members who want to leverage their existing experience to earn a bachelor\u2019s degree and adult learners who already have years or even decades of career and prior learning experience,\u201d said Rausch.<\/p>\n

Woods fits into that final category. After two decades as a working professional, she decided to go back to school partly because of her daughter. \u201cI was constantly preaching the importance of education to my 28-year-old daughter, who has graduated with her master\u2019s, so I felt that I needed to practice what I preach.\u201d<\/p>\n

She also sees this degree as the next step in her career.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me to get to the next level, I needed to have a degree,\u201d Woods said. \u201cEven though I have the experience, I need that paper to seal the deal.\u201d<\/p>\n

She has found that it\u2019s more than just a piece of paper. When she started out, she said she thought, \u201cI\u2019ve been at the city for 20 years, so I know the city\u2019s ins and outs; there is nothing new I can learn.\u201d After a few weeks in the program, she changed her tune. \u201cBoy, was I wrong. There is a lot of information that I\u2019m learning which pertains to my everyday duties, and it is continuously perfecting what I do daily.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said she already feels a boost of confidence in her workplace.<\/p>\n

\u201cI recently applied for a deputy administrator position\u2026if it had not been for the classes I was taking, I would not have felt the confidence to apply for the position,\u201d Woods said.<\/p>\n

Woods is only getting started on her educational journey.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis program is pulling things out of me that I didn\u2019t know I could do,\u201d she said. \u201cNow, I am definitely considering pursuing my master\u2019s after finishing this program because it seems so much more obtainable.\u201d<\/p>\n

She feels that the program is perfectly tailored for her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a wife. I\u2019m a mother. I\u2019m a manager. I have a busy life, but the classes are geared toward my life,\u201d she explained. \u201cThe classes are online, so I don\u2019t have to drive to campus. There isn\u2019t a set time that I have to be at a computer. I can do my work at 3 a.m. or 3 p.m.\u201d<\/p>\n