Sarah Wood.

Sarah Wood of Snow Hill, an honors student at Wor-Wic Community College, is this year’s $500 faculty honors scholarship winner.

Selection is based on scholastic achievement and an essay competition judged by the honors program committee at Wor-Wic. Applicants were required to write a four-page research-based argumentative essay on how slavery should be taught in public schools. Wood’s award-winning essay called “Slavery is to Racism as History is to Civics: Teaching Them Together,” argued that students should be taught that slavery is not an institution that ended in 1865, but a system of oppression that adapts to the legal framework of the times.

A straight-A student, Wood said that the honors program has prepared her well for transfer. “I loved the discussions my professors facilitated in the honors classrooms, and the freedom I had in so many of the assignments. The honors program made me realize that general education is as necessary as vocational skills when in college. We can all benefit from the new perspectives and critical thinking skills gained in an English or science classroom.”

Wood plans to transfer to the University of Maryland College Park to earn a bachelor’s degree in one of the social sciences.