GREENFIELD, MA (WGGB/WSHM) -- The Gary Rome Auto Group Surprise Squad surprised Greenfield High School student Nate Woodard with a $1,000 scholarship and recognition as December’s Super Student for going above and beyond for his school, community, and city.

The student body gathered in the gymnasium to prepare the surprise, made signs, and practiced a “We Love Nate” chant. One student even dressed in all green for the occasion. Woodard’s father, Columbus Woodard III, said his son has overcome early challenges. “We kind of knew he was going to be blessed. He spent a month-and-a-half in the ICU when he was born, so he was always kind of struggling through life, but also at the same time he was always loving life at the same time,” he said.

Gary Rome, president of the Gary Rome Auto Group, presented the scholarship to Woodard. “I was reading about you, everything you do, between your involvement in human rights, getting the Citizenship award, being a coach, and being involved. You were the perfect choice for us to select you as the Super Student for this month,” he explained. “We want to give you a scholarship because we know you’re going on to bigger and better things next year, so we want to give you a scholarship for $1,000 and then also, we have another gift for you from the car wash. Everything that you might need to wash your car and a three-month membership, so congratulations.”

Woodard said his sense of responsibility comes from within and draws inspiration from Martin Luther King Jr. “The sense of responsibility is coming from ourselves and the person that really inspires me is Martin Luther King. He had a sense of responsibility for people all over the country. My sense of responsibility is people in my city, but could be people all over the country one day,” he explained.

Nominator Loni Zdanowicz said Woodard has exceptional potential. “I mean, he could be the president of the United States at this rate. I mean, this kid is there. He’s going places so,” he added.

Teacher Cherilyn Bulger said Woodard’s potential is phenomenal and believes he can accomplish anything he sets his mind to and friend April Rooney Adams said Woodard has shown adult-level responsibility since childhood. “Nate has been an adult since the age of eight because he is just that responsible and that caring about everything he does and everyone around him,” Adams said.

Woodard participates in the school band and serves as president of the Students of Color Club. Band Director Hannah Cherry said Woodard’s knowledge of the program sometimes reverses traditional teacher-student roles. “I’m the teacher and he’s the student but, in many ways, it was almost reversed because he knows so much about the program,” Cherry explained.

Kanza Nasrullah, vice president of the Students of Color Club, said Woodard’s leadership makes difficult conversations easier. “I felt like I had a connection with Nate, which made it really easy for me to be open because topics like that aren’t always easy, especially when you are a person of color,” Nasrullah said.

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