Dalais Woods ’20 Breaks Into the Music Business and Credits Graphic Arts Coursework With Aiding His Musical Endeavors

Dalais Woods ’20 was driving down a North Carolina road when he got a call from a friend. The friend told Woods to turn on the radio. He scanned the dial until he heard a familiar song, Rejoice featuring Tray Gibbs. He knew every word—even sang along.

The reason Woods knew every word wasn’t because it was a radio favorite of his. The reason is because Woods wrote and recorded the song. The budding musician was hearing himself for the first time on the airwaves.

Since that time, Woods has been putting more and more time and energy into his music, and it seems to be paying off. One aspect that has allowed Woods to focus on his music, he says, is the education he received at Ferrum. The Graphic Arts graduate credits his coursework with aiding his musical endeavors.

“Ferrum really opened up some doors to prepare me for my career. During my graphic design classes, I loved to design album covers, edit photos and make logos,” said Woods.

“With that knowledge I can now design my own album covers, edit my own photos, and create a logo for myself,” continued Woods.

Ferrum College alumna and former Boone Honors Program member Suzie Maines ’21 (pictured with her boyfriend, Diego) double majored in Spanish and International Studies. A native of Winchester, VA, Maines works in Madrid, Spain, teaching English and language skills to high school students through the North American Language and Culture Program.

During her time at Ferrum College and with the support of a Boone Honors Program travel scholarship, Maines studied abroad in both Seville, Spain in summer 2019 and in Havana, Cuba for the fall 2019 semester.

Maines reflected on how the Boone Honors Program impacted her life, the extra opportunities the program added to her educational experience at Ferrum College, and how honors education benefited her upon graduation and beyond.

“The Boone Honors Program gave me the opportunity to make friends and [meet] professors who inspired me to make the most of my time at Ferrum,” said Maines. “Now that I’ve graduated from Ferrum, I continue to seek out new opportunities abroad. This wouldn’t be possible if it weren’t for the experiences I had in Ferrum and in the Boone Honors Program.”

Ferrum College was excited to welcome alumni, students, families, employees, and friends to campus for Homecoming 2022 festivities on October 14 &15. The weekend included the Vickie Van Kleeck Softball Facility groundbreaking ceremony, a Ferrum Takeover at Mellow Mushroom in Roanoke, the Agriculture Club reunion breakfast, the Alumni Awards Ceremony, alumni athletic games, tailgating, a bluegrass/old-time music jam, Panther football against the W&L Generals, a Boone Honors Program reunion dinner, a men’s basketball reunion, and more!