Senior Cameron Wood was named Fr. Bernard Holmes, O.S.B., scholar for the 2014-2015 academic year, an award established by Mr. and Mrs. Robert C. Davison in memory of Fr. Bernard Holmes, O.S.B., former president of the college.

Wood was nominated by Professor Norton for the award and was selected after consideration from Administration and two interviews, one of which was with Dr. DiSalvo.

The recipient of the Holmes Scholar is given one year’s tuition. The recipient of the award cannot be just anyone; he or she must participate in the life of the college, as well as demonstrate concern for and assistance to others, potential for leadership and a love of learning.

Wood is very active in campus life through which he partakes in these criteria. He is a member of the choir, the Abbey Players and spent the last two years being a Residential Assistant.

He helped write and direct last year’s Family Weekend show, Hawkward, and has acted in every Family Weekend show, along with Oklahoma and Bye Bye Birdie, which was his favorite. Wood can be seen in his last Family Weekend play in October.

Not only does Wood entertain the community, he also helped to keep students safe during his time as an RA. Though he enjoyed being an RA and getting to know the student body, he chose not to return to the position this year due to a busy senior year schedule.

Wood’s love for knowledge and learning goes beyond just for himself. He is double majoring in English and Secondary Education in hopes of teaching high school English. This desire stems from his love of books and the positive impact that some of his own teachers have had on him.

He wishes to pass on this positive experience of learning to other students. So far Wood has worked with sophomores and juniors from Trinity High School. He worked alongside teachers in his Sophomore Early Field Experience class and students who were on IEPs (Individual Education Programs) during his Inclusion Equity and Diversity class.

Because Wood has an extrovert personality, teaching and connecting with students has always come relatively easy to him. Though he has never questioned if teaching was right for him, what he found challenging was the long-term planning that comes with teaching.

The Curriculum and Assessment class he took junior year, which required him to make a curriculum for students and to be able to project how and what students will learn from each lesson, he found to be difficult.

Despite the struggle, he made it through with the support of his heroes; his parents and grandfather.

Wood expressed his gratitude for having parents who have always supported in his endeavors; also his grandfather, who has always been there to give him great advice. His tradition with his grandfather is to go and get lunch and in the past to go and buy comic books.

After college he hopes to find a job teaching in either Massachusetts, or New Hampshire so he can remain close to home, and if the opportunity presented itself he would like to keep acting for a local theater group.