VCU alumna revels in her second career

Diana Woodcock (B.S. ’74/H&S; M.F.A. ’04/H&S)

Exactly 30 years span between the time Diana Woodcock (B.S. ’74/H&S; M.F.A. ’04/H&S) earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology and her master’s degree in creative writing at Virginia Commonwealth University.

During those three decades, she changed careers from a juvenile probation counselor to an assistant professor of English at VCU in Qatar. “My VCU education prepared me quite well for my two careers,” she says.

A poet as well as a professor, Woodcock had a chapbook, “Travels of a Gwai Lo,” published by Toadlily Press in Chappaqua, N.Y., in September. The book, her first, includes 14 poems inspired by the years she lived and traveled in China, Thailand and Burma. (Before teaching at VCU Qatar, Woodcock spent nearly 7 ½ years living in Asia.)

Another chapbook, “Mandala,” dedicated to the Tibetan people and their exiled leader, the 14th Dalai Lama, features 30 poems and was published by Foothills Publishing in Kanona, N.Y., in December. A third book, “In the Shade of the Sidra Tree,” will be published by Finishing Line Press in Georgetown, Ky., in 2010. Woodcock also received word that the editors at Toadlily Press have nominated one of her poems for a Pushcart Prize, which pays tribute to authors and small publishing houses, an honor she says stands out as a career highlight.

The prolific poet says it feels wonderful to see her work in print.

“I wish I had kept count of all the rejection letters from editors these past 10-plus years,” she says. “But persistence pays off — just like all the famous poets say!”

As a child, Woodcock wrote poetry but never thought of it as a profession until she hit her mid-30s. “Finally I had to admit it was what I am most passionate about,” she says. “And I could switch careers knowing poetry could change the world just as much as counseling or social work.”

Now in her sixth year at VCU Qatar, Woodcock enjoys instilling a love of the written word in her students. “It’s always exciting to have a student say she’s discovered she loves writing and is no longer intimidated by it,” she says.

Woodcock jokes that it could be another 30 years before she earns her Ph.D. She is considering starting a doctoral program but, she says, it must be a distance-learning format because “I hope to stay in Qatar as long as VCU Qatar will have me!”