Ashley Woods (he/him) serves as the chief information officer, vice president for information technology and head esports coach at East Georgia State College. While he has worked at EGSC for more than 17 years, he has led the college’s esports program for the past two. He has always been a gamer and is excited to see where the program continues to go.

For Woods, the best part of the job is interacting with students and learning about their stories. The campus has truly rallied behind the esports program and takes great pride in the culture that has been built around it.

“I love each of our athletes and am appreciative of being a small part of their lives,” said Woods. Woods is excited to kick off the upcoming fall semester and continue building connections with the team. Last season, the program made history by winning the school’s first-ever national championship, along with earning two runner-up finishes. Now, the goal is to build on that momentum and take it to the next level.

“The NJCAAE has given us a tremendous opportunity to compete on a national level in esports. It has been really cool for our students to compete with other schools across the nation,” said Woods. “We were able to secure our school’s first national championship in SSBU (Tier 3). We also had 2 teams finish runners-up in Madden and Rocket League. The goal is always to win a national championship in every game title that we compete in each season. We’re not here to take part, but to take over.”

When asked to describe his role in one word, Woods chose “rewarding.” He said he feels proud of the team and expressed gratitude to those who helped lay the foundation for EGSC’s esports program: Mauricio, Amin, Peyton, Caleb, Kevin, Thomas, Norberto, Johnny, Rebbeca, Alex, Isaih, Stacy, Ty, Victor, Katelyn, Chris and assistant coach Alex Smith.

In Woods’ free time, he enjoys being on the beach with friends and family, or cheering on his daughter, Hadley, at her dance competitions. He proudly calls her EGSC esports’ biggest fan.