Hayes-Lee Returns to WHS
By: Katina Rice-Davis, Staff Writer
katina@thewoodrufftimes.com
For Cynthia Hayes-Lee, returning to Woodruff High School is about much more than returning to a classroom. It is a homecoming.
After decades spent educating young people, 28 of those years at Woodruff High School, Hayes-Lee has returned to the school where she built a remarkable chapter of her career and where she became deeply connected to the community she now calls an extension of her family.
Her return is a story of faith, legacy, relationships, and a lifelong commitment to education.
A Calling That Began Early
Hayes-Lee’s desire to become an educator began long before she ever stepped into a classroom.
As a young student at Campobello Gramling School in District 1, she enjoyed school, her teachers, and the learning atmosphere. Although she cannot pinpoint the exact moment she knew teaching was her calling, she remembers that even during her elementary school years, she already knew she wanted to become a teacher.
That desire became more focused during her years at Chapman High School.
Hayes-Lee discovered a passion for business courses and took as many as her schedule would allow. She credits two of her teachers, Mrs. Katie Wingo and Mrs. Peggy Hamrick, with helping guide her toward a career in Business Education.
“I talked with them about how to pursue a degree in business education, and they helped point me in the right direction,” Hayes-Lee recalled.
After graduating from Winthrop College, as the university was known at the time, she began her teaching career in August 1987 at Cherokee Area Vocational Center, now Cherokee Technology Center. There, she taught Accounting I, Accounting II, and Introduction to BASIC programming.
Her love for Business Education has remained throughout her career.
“I enjoy the variety of skills,” she said. “I try to use my enthusiasm for these skills in hopes that my students will enjoy learning too. I want them to be equipped with strong skills moving forward.”
28 Years as a Wolverine
Hayes-Lee eventually made her way to Woodruff High School, where she spent 28 years shaping students’ lives and becoming an important part of the Woodruff community.
Her years at WHS were significant not only professionally, but personally.
“WHS, and this community, became a huge part of my life personally and professionally,” she said. “As a very young teacher, I feel that WHS gave me more than I was able to give at that time.”
She fondly remembers the seasoned teachers and administrators who invested in her early in her career and helped establish the foundation that continues to influence her teaching philosophy and classroom expectations.
But the relationship between Hayes-Lee and the Woodruff community extended well beyond the classroom.
The community celebrated with her when her daughter was born, supported her family through the illness and passing of her late husband, celebrated with her when she remarried, and cheered on her daughter and stepson as they competed as Wolverine athletes.
“Words are inadequate to express the love and deep emotions I feel for the precious people of this community,” Hayes-Lee said. “I truly feel the Lord gave me WHS and the Woodruff community, as extensions of my family because I have TRULY been embraced as a family member—with ALL the LOVE, support, and encouragement!”
Among her vivid memories of her early days at WHS is one involving Coach Varner, whom she describes as “one of the most amazing men” she has ever had the opportunity to know.
She still remembers his familiar instruction: “Get off the grass, that’s what sidewalks are for.”
While the statement may sound simple, Hayes-Lee believes it represented something much larger: the expectations, discipline, and respect for rules that became trademarks of Woodruff High School.
Preparing Students for Life
Throughout her career, Hayes-Lee has believed that education is about much more than mastering a subject.
She hopes her students have carried important life lessons with them long after leaving her classroom.
Among those lessons are two principles she considers essential: never being afraid to admit a mistake and never being afraid to ask questions.
“These are important life lessons, and we are never too old for these,” she said.
Technology has also dramatically transformed the world of Business Education during her career.
Hayes-Lee has experienced that transformation firsthand, from teaching students who used typewriters and stored information on 5¼-inch floppy disks to today’s cloud-based technology and digital data storage.
“I have ‘ridden the waves of technological change,’” she said.
With students now having access to an unprecedented amount of information and technology, she believes today’s business educator has another important responsibility: teaching students to become responsible digital citizens.
Retirement Wasn’t the End
Hayes-Lee retired from Woodruff High School in 2018 to meet her family’s needs. But retirement did not completely remove her from education.
During her time away, she regularly substituted at WHS in both short- and long-term capacities. She also maintained her teaching certification and continued keeping her skills current.
When a Business Education position became available at Clinton High School, Hayes-Lee saw an opportunity to continue doing what she loved.
She contacted Clinton High School Principal Dr. Martha Brothers, met with her, and discussed what the school needed and what Hayes-Lee could bring to the classroom.
In June 2024, she became a Clinton High School Red Devil.
Her two years at Clinton proved to be another meaningful chapter in her career.
Hayes-Lee said the faculty, staff, and Laurens 56 district welcomed her and made her feel as though she had always been there. “The two years I spent at CHS as a Red Devil, after spending 28 years as a Wolverine, was one of the best experiences of my life!” she said.
She credits the administration and her co-workers for supporting and encouraging her along the way.
The experience also reinforced something she already believed deeply—that good people and outstanding educators can be found everywhere, all working toward the same goal of helping young people succeed.
A God-Orchestrated Homecoming
Then came another unexpected turn.
Hayes-Lee learned that Woodruff High School had a Business Education position available that did not include coaching responsibilities.
She had been happy at Clinton and had no intention of leaving a place that had treated her so well. But longtime friend and former co-worker Laura Lawton told her about the opening and encouraged her to apply.
After prayerful consideration, Hayes-Lee cautiously submitted her application.
She admits that she wondered whether the school might prefer a younger teacher.
After meeting with Mrs. Morris, Hayes-Lee told her she would accept whatever decision the school board made.
Then came the phone call.
When Mrs. Morris called to say the school board had approved her return to Woodruff High School, Hayes-Lee was overwhelmed with emotion.
“Receiving the phone call from Mrs. Morris, with the news that the school board approved my return to serve at WHS, literally brought me to tears!” she said.
For Hayes-Lee, there was no doubt that something greater had brought the opportunity full circle.
“I knew right then, only God can orchestrate such an amazing opportunity!”
“New Location, Same Legacy”
Walking through the doors of the new Woodruff High School has been a powerful experience for Hayes-Lee.
She describes it as an honor, a privilege, and something deeply symbolic.
The new building represents a fresh opportunity, while the legacy she helped build remains.
Some faces are new, while others are familiar—including former students who are now adults and, in some cases, parents of the students sitting in her classroom today.
“It is an honor and privilege to know that I now have the opportunity to teach children and relatives of the children I taught over 20 years ago,” she said.
Most days, Hayes-Lee admits she still has to pinch herself.
She never imagined she would have the opportunity to return.
“New location, same legacy sums it up perfectly,” she said.
And for Hayes-Lee, being back truly does feel like coming home.
“In some ways, it feels like I never left,” she said. “Everyone has been SO welcoming and, again, I’m humbled, honored, and blessed.”
A Legacy That Continues
For Hayes-Lee, the greatest accomplishment of her career isn’t a particular award or milestone.
It is knowing that something a student learned in her classroom has helped that student in life.
An even greater reward comes when former students continue their education in college and beyond.
“My greatest reward being a teacher is seeing students succeed…in the classroom and in life,” she said.
Her passion for education remains strong because she enjoys the enthusiasm teenagers have for life. She also continues to enjoy accounting and computer science and looks for ways to connect those interests with her students.
Above all, she wants her students to remember that she treated them with respect.
She also carries lessons from her own career into every new chapter.
“One of the most important things I learned early in my teaching career, and it is the same way in life…you must never be too proud to admit when you make a mistake,” she said. “God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason—we must always be willing to listen and learn from others, especially those older and wiser.”
Looking Ahead
As Hayes-Lee begins this new chapter, her focus is not on what she has already accomplished, but on what she can still contribute.
“I am most excited about what I can learn about my students and investing in their lives,” she said.
Her message to today’s students is simple but powerful: Be grateful for the opportunities you have. Use them to learn, grow, and pursue your goals beyond high school. Encourage one another. Cheer each other on. And lend a helping hand when someone needs it.
And to the community that welcomed her decades ago, supported her through life’s most difficult moments and now welcomes her home once again, Hayes-Lee offers heartfelt gratitude.
“I am humbled, honored, and grateful for the opportunity to serve again at WHS,” she said. “I will do my best to be a good role model, to share my knowledge, and to build up these young people while encouraging them to appreciate and give back to this wonderful community.”
After nearly four decades in education, Cynthia Hayes-Lee’s story is not simply about a teacher returning to school.
It is about a woman returning to a community that helped shape her, a classroom where she continues to pour into young lives, and a legacy that is still being written—one student at a time.
For Woodruff High School, her return reminds us that some educators don’t simply teach in a community.
They become part of its story.
