During one of my usual activities in class, that of not paying attention and cruising the Internet. I stumbled upon an old article about me written back in good old 1996. After eight years, I complete forget about the piece. So for your reading pleasure, I have posted it here, and please, keep the laughs to the minium especially the "Woody hasn't descover girls yet" part 
Syracuse Herald-Journal (NY)
October 9, 1996
TEEN WHIZ IS MASTER OF SCHOOLS' WEB SITE HE'S A STUDENT, BUT TEACHERS COME TO HIM FOR HELPING HAND.
Author: Tasneem A. Grace Staff Writer
Edition: City
Section: News
Page: A1
Estimated printed pages: 4
Article Text:
Jerome Woody is not your average high school computer wizard who fiddles with the World Wide Web in his free time.
He is the WebMaster.
At 16, he teaches teachers how to use computers and, last week, was hired by Syracuse University to teach teen-agers.
At 15, he was hired by the Syracuse School District.
It all started at age 10 with a visit to Syracuse University and a friend who was a computer whiz. Woody, who works without a home computer, has learned four computer languages - HTML, BASIC, Quick BASIC and MACHINE. He is teaching himself a fifth, JAVA, from a manual.
Woody belongs to the generation in which many children become fluent in computerese when they are tall enough to reach a keyboard, agile enough to maneuver a mouse. Now, the young teach the old.
Woody works 15 hours a week in the computer science room of Central Technical Vocational Center on East Adams Street.
He is the first student hired to supervise the district's connections to its web server. He makes $5.05 an hour to store information from eight district computers, fix web programming problems and help the full-time teacher,Larry Page.
During the day he takes classes at Nottingham High School. And tucked in his backpack at all times is his "bible," a dog-eared catalog and guide to the Internet.
WebMaster to the rescue
Woody's students come to Central Tech's computer science room after school.
It was almost 4 p.m. when Anne Mayes, a computer literacy teacher at the Adult Basic Learning Center, 417 W. Colvin St., came with a glitch on her web page.
Page gave the assignment to Woody.
About 40 computers fill the room. The two worked on a PowerMac near the back.
Mayes - her hair gray at the temples - sat in front of the monitor. Woody - with soft, curly peach fuzz on his lower chin and upper lip - stood over her shoulder.
He leaned forward to read rows of colons, parentheses, slashes and brackets on the screen.
"It seems to me you want to list, right?" he asked, using a finger to scan the symbols. Mayes nodded.
"You might want to take all these out," he said pointing to two letters, "ul."
A "ul?"
It's an "unordered list," an "HTML" command, Woody said.
"HTML?"
"Oh, it stands for hyper-text markup language," he said. "I bought the HTML Manual Style book and took it home one weekend. It's a very simple language. You can start making web pages in a week."
Mayes chuckled and waited for more help with the program she learned how to create in July - in a workshop led by Page and Woody.
Role reversal
Having to ask a 16-year-old, who works in jeans and Reeboks, for help was awkward at first, she said. But Woody put her at ease, always calling her "Mrs. Mayes."
"And he doesn't even have to," she said. "He is the teacher. I am the student.
The role reversals are useful, Page said.
"It's good for (teachers) to realize they aren't the only source of information," he said. "It kind of levels the playing field a little bit."
Page began hiring student assistants about 15 years ago. When the district planned to upgrade its web connections last year, Woody told Page he wanted to help. With a recommendation of another computer teacher, Page hired Woody.
Students designed two of the district's high schools' web pages. Woody created Nottingham's last year.
"I don't think Jerome's discovered girls yet," he said. "When that happens, it may slow him down."
Woody laughs at his boss' comment.
"Mr. Page is fooling himself," he said.
Woody, whose friends and family call him by his last name, said a few years ago he didn't have the courage to talk to girls. Shyness silenced him. And then there were the taunts. Genius. Nerd boy.
Some used computer lingo to tease: "Hey, www.woody.com."
"You never want to stand out in the crowd," he said. "You never want to be different, and I was. I accepted it."
Things changed when his friends learned he failed English and biology and had to go to summer school. "Then they said, `Woody's just like us. He's not perfect,"' he said.
He spends Saturdays "chilling" at Carousel Center. Sundays are for homework and family.
The Professor
He lives with his mother and two younger sisters on the east side of Syracuse. His father, Anthony Woody, lives in Georgia. They communicate through electronic mail. His mother, Loretta Wilson, is a secretary. She is learning computer basics.
"I want to be where Woody's at," she said. "I'm very proud of what Woody can do. I thank God every day for him."
Wilson said she raised Woody and his younger sisters to believe in excellence. Her soft voice deepens when she speaks proudly of her first-born.
"My friends call him `The Professor,"' she said. "We always knew he would go far with his mind."
He chose his passion at 10.
There was a teen-ager living in his neighborhood who was a whiz in computer games. His name was Allen Kapansa.
"We called him the Game Master," Woody said.
"Some of the kids looked up to him for that, but I looked up to him because he knew all about computers, how they worked and everything."
Kapansa, whose father was a Syracuse University student, was four years older than Woody and treated Woody like a little brother. Kapansa invited him to a open house at the School of Engineering and Computer Science.
Woody rolls his eyes upward and grins excitedly at the memory.
"I saw the most magnificent things," he said, throwing his arms open wide. "They had huge computers! It was like the ultimate video game to me.
"I guess that's when it all started."
SU students help
Without a home computer, Woody found ways to fuel his goal of becoming a computer scientist.
At 12, he began spending his summers in the computer room in SU's Bird Library. He would stay until sunset.
Unfettered inquiry sharpened his interest.
SU students answered him with Internet demonstrations and ways to access different programs. Following in Kapansa's footsteps, he began taking computer science courses at Central Tech last year.
This April, he will enter his latest project in the NAACP ACT-SO competition.
He spent a year and a half creating an education program called O.A.S.I.S. - Opening African-American Students to the Information Superhighway.
Woody said some black students are intimidated by technology. Starting Saturday, he will run workshops for SU's Science and Technology Entry Program, teaching teens how to use the Internet.
He wants to make sure they're not curbside while people advance on the information superhighway.
Maybe with the program they'll understand what keeps Woody on the Web.
It's simple, he said. "I like having the answers."
Copyright (c) 1996 The Herald Company
Syracuse Herald-Journal (NY)
October 9, 1996
TEEN WHIZ IS MASTER OF SCHOOLS' WEB SITE HE'S A STUDENT, BUT TEACHERS COME TO HIM FOR HELPING HAND.
Author: Tasneem A. Grace Staff Writer
Edition: City
Section: News
Page: A1
Estimated printed pages: 4
Article Text:
Jerome Woody is not your average high school computer wizard who fiddles with the World Wide Web in his free time.
He is the WebMaster.
At 16, he teaches teachers how to use computers and, last week, was hired by Syracuse University to teach teen-agers.
At 15, he was hired by the Syracuse School District.
It all started at age 10 with a visit to Syracuse University and a friend who was a computer whiz. Woody, who works without a home computer, has learned four computer languages - HTML, BASIC, Quick BASIC and MACHINE. He is teaching himself a fifth, JAVA, from a manual.
Woody belongs to the generation in which many children become fluent in computerese when they are tall enough to reach a keyboard, agile enough to maneuver a mouse. Now, the young teach the old.
Woody works 15 hours a week in the computer science room of Central Technical Vocational Center on East Adams Street.
He is the first student hired to supervise the district's connections to its web server. He makes $5.05 an hour to store information from eight district computers, fix web programming problems and help the full-time teacher,Larry Page.
During the day he takes classes at Nottingham High School. And tucked in his backpack at all times is his "bible," a dog-eared catalog and guide to the Internet.
WebMaster to the rescue
Woody's students come to Central Tech's computer science room after school.
It was almost 4 p.m. when Anne Mayes, a computer literacy teacher at the Adult Basic Learning Center, 417 W. Colvin St., came with a glitch on her web page.
Page gave the assignment to Woody.
About 40 computers fill the room. The two worked on a PowerMac near the back.
Mayes - her hair gray at the temples - sat in front of the monitor. Woody - with soft, curly peach fuzz on his lower chin and upper lip - stood over her shoulder.
He leaned forward to read rows of colons, parentheses, slashes and brackets on the screen.
"It seems to me you want to list, right?" he asked, using a finger to scan the symbols. Mayes nodded.
"You might want to take all these out," he said pointing to two letters, "ul."
A "ul?"
It's an "unordered list," an "HTML" command, Woody said.
"HTML?"
"Oh, it stands for hyper-text markup language," he said. "I bought the HTML Manual Style book and took it home one weekend. It's a very simple language. You can start making web pages in a week."
Mayes chuckled and waited for more help with the program she learned how to create in July - in a workshop led by Page and Woody.
Role reversal
Having to ask a 16-year-old, who works in jeans and Reeboks, for help was awkward at first, she said. But Woody put her at ease, always calling her "Mrs. Mayes."
"And he doesn't even have to," she said. "He is the teacher. I am the student.
The role reversals are useful, Page said.
"It's good for (teachers) to realize they aren't the only source of information," he said. "It kind of levels the playing field a little bit."
Page began hiring student assistants about 15 years ago. When the district planned to upgrade its web connections last year, Woody told Page he wanted to help. With a recommendation of another computer teacher, Page hired Woody.
Students designed two of the district's high schools' web pages. Woody created Nottingham's last year.
"I don't think Jerome's discovered girls yet," he said. "When that happens, it may slow him down."
Woody laughs at his boss' comment.
"Mr. Page is fooling himself," he said.
Woody, whose friends and family call him by his last name, said a few years ago he didn't have the courage to talk to girls. Shyness silenced him. And then there were the taunts. Genius. Nerd boy.
Some used computer lingo to tease: "Hey, www.woody.com."
"You never want to stand out in the crowd," he said. "You never want to be different, and I was. I accepted it."
Things changed when his friends learned he failed English and biology and had to go to summer school. "Then they said, `Woody's just like us. He's not perfect,"' he said.
He spends Saturdays "chilling" at Carousel Center. Sundays are for homework and family.
The Professor
He lives with his mother and two younger sisters on the east side of Syracuse. His father, Anthony Woody, lives in Georgia. They communicate through electronic mail. His mother, Loretta Wilson, is a secretary. She is learning computer basics.
"I want to be where Woody's at," she said. "I'm very proud of what Woody can do. I thank God every day for him."
Wilson said she raised Woody and his younger sisters to believe in excellence. Her soft voice deepens when she speaks proudly of her first-born.
"My friends call him `The Professor,"' she said. "We always knew he would go far with his mind."
He chose his passion at 10.
There was a teen-ager living in his neighborhood who was a whiz in computer games. His name was Allen Kapansa.
"We called him the Game Master," Woody said.
"Some of the kids looked up to him for that, but I looked up to him because he knew all about computers, how they worked and everything."
Kapansa, whose father was a Syracuse University student, was four years older than Woody and treated Woody like a little brother. Kapansa invited him to a open house at the School of Engineering and Computer Science.
Woody rolls his eyes upward and grins excitedly at the memory.
"I saw the most magnificent things," he said, throwing his arms open wide. "They had huge computers! It was like the ultimate video game to me.
"I guess that's when it all started."
SU students help
Without a home computer, Woody found ways to fuel his goal of becoming a computer scientist.
At 12, he began spending his summers in the computer room in SU's Bird Library. He would stay until sunset.
Unfettered inquiry sharpened his interest.
SU students answered him with Internet demonstrations and ways to access different programs. Following in Kapansa's footsteps, he began taking computer science courses at Central Tech last year.
This April, he will enter his latest project in the NAACP ACT-SO competition.
He spent a year and a half creating an education program called O.A.S.I.S. - Opening African-American Students to the Information Superhighway.
Woody said some black students are intimidated by technology. Starting Saturday, he will run workshops for SU's Science and Technology Entry Program, teaching teens how to use the Internet.
He wants to make sure they're not curbside while people advance on the information superhighway.
Maybe with the program they'll understand what keeps Woody on the Web.
It's simple, he said. "I like having the answers."
Copyright (c) 1996 The Herald Company
VIEW 3 of 3 COMMENTS
mistersatan:
What a fucking pimp. 
ooomermaidooo:
Well why thank you.