Not long after he arrived at BMCC, Colin Woodward was walking down a corridor when he saw a group of students, chatting in what he assumed was New York City street slang.
“As I drew closer, I realized they were discussing complex math concepts that were way over my head—but doing it in the language of the street,” he says. “I remember thinking that that’s the kind of thing I enjoy so much about being in this place.”
Coming to America
Born and raised in Wigan, a small town in northwest England, Woodward followed his wife to New York eight years ago when she was offered a job here. “I worked for a while at the Strand Bookstore and did volunteer work—and in my spare time I wrote,” he says. “But I felt that I needed some way of validating my writing and making it feel worthwhile.”
He initially considered taking a film studies course at Hunter College, but after passing the Compass entrance examination he ended up at BMCC and discovered he had no desire to be anywhere else.
“The more I stayed here, the more I liked it,” he says. “I acquired a renewed love for writing, changed my major to literature and decided to work toward an Associates degree.”
A means of self-expression
While there are many factors that drew Woodward to remain at BMCC, chief among them was the writing courses he took with English adjunct professor, John Bredin. “He really opened my eyes to what I could achieve and gave me a chance to express myself through my writing,” he says. He also cultivated a strong interest in areas far removed from creative writing. “A course I took in colonial American history challenged me in a way I hadn’t been challenged in a long time,” he says. “I really enjoyed that.”
An ardent environmentalist, Woodward spends much of his free time at the Bronx Zoo as a volunteer with the Wildlife Conservation Society. “I believe animals and humans are connected in a fundamental way, and that the more we destroy our forests, the more harm we do to ourselves,” he says.
After he graduates, Woodward expects to further his studies in a senior college. But for now, he is enjoying everything BMCC has to offer. “The diversity here is incredible,” he says. “It’s totally turned around my preconceptions—and that has been a very big part of my education.”
