We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dr. Valeria Williams a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Dr. Williams , thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
My parents were the personifications of resilience. I watched them persevere through hardships of life with unwavering faith. They are deceased, and I am their only child. Hopefully, my resilient nature can be a testimony for others.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
The most important roles in my life are being William’s mother and a passionate educator. William and I grew up together. When I had him at the tender age of 17, I knew that my life would change forever. What I did not know was how being his mother would be the best thing that ever happened to me and the reason I continue to take each breath each second of the day.
There were teachers and people in my community who said hateful things to me for being pregnant at an early age. They misjudged my parents and my lifestyle. One of my goals was to show them that my son and I were more than the statistical stereotypes they thought we would be. This is partially why I became an educator.
Another contributing factor of me becoming an educator was centered around an experience I had with another little boy in my son’s class when he was in the second grade. At the time, I was unemployed and would volunteer at my son’s school regularly. I collaborated with a young man to become a better reader and enjoyed the time I had with him. The experience encouraged me to apply for the Master of Arts in Teaching program at a university in my hometown, and the rest is history.
My focus as a Business Education Instructor is to bridge the gap between academics and career/technical education. The antiquated idealism of tech prep versus college prep still exists in public school education. My experience as a middle and high school teacher combined with my experience as a technical college instructor have provided me with the skillset to assist students with the transition among each educational sector. Additionally, I am focused on assisting students with turning their passions into profitable careers. My future goal is to start a nonprofit organization centered around developing teachers who can assist me with bridging the aforementioned gap.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
The three qualities that were most impactful in my journey were vision, tenacity, and self-confidence. Most goals are accomplished by beginning with the end in mind. My ability to have a vision of the big picture and finding or creating action steps to make the vision a reality was paramount in my journey. There were times when my action steps were not sequential, and modifications had to be created. That is when tenacity became a determining factor, especially after losing my parents at a youthful age. According to Merriam-Webster, tenacity requires people to continue despite danger, difficulty, or obstacles. Losing my parents and all of my grandparents by the time I was 27 required me to continue life without some of my biggest cheerleaders. However, these obstacles built my self-confidence along with looking into my son’s eyes, who is the one person that believed in me despite my flaws.
My nuggets of wisdom for people who are early in their journey are to organize your thoughts and give yourself grace. The first nugget of wisdom, getting organized, requires taking time to write down, not type, every idea. Sometimes, writing thoughts help people realize that the mountain they thought they had to climb was really a hill. In addition, writing ideas help connect similar problems with similar solutions. My second nugget of wisdom is to give yourself grace. No one is perfect, and often, we are our biggest critics. Remember, no one is born knowing everything and mistakes are impactful teachers. Pat yourself on the back for making it this far.
To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?
Barbara Ann Williams is the angel that taught me so much by allowing and encouraging me to be myself despite what people thought. She would emphasize the importance of laughter and enjoying life every second of the day. When I would cry, she would remind me that tears are God’s way of relieving pressure and that’s okay. One of the most impactful statements she made to me was as follows: “Life is just something we’re going through until we get back to our Creator. Enjoy it!”
Melvin Williams, Jr., is the angel that taught me all things can be conquered if we think and listen. He was a quiet man who allowed his actions to speak the loudest. There were times he would give me puzzles to solve and would allow me to cry my way through solving them. As I cried, he would wipe my tears and tell me crying is going to give me a headache, but the problem still had to be faced.
The most impactful thing they did was give me a balance between emotion and logic while being authentic to themselves. I thank the Most High for them and the memories I had with them each day.
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