After the ceremony and the rain this writer met Austin Williams and his amazing family. Upon introducing myself to him and his family, his mother, Patricia Williams, kindly asked for a picture and I was immediately drawn to his story. I asked him to give me a recap of his four years at Morehouse College, check out what he wrote:
“I received my denial letter on the same day my friend learned of his acceptance. The college I had my heart set on ever since my father showed me it’s brochure, had rejected my application. I was hurt; disappointed not in the college’s decision as much as I was in myself for spending my time in high school more concerned with my next big football game than doing well in my chemistry class. I was more interested in the study of the girls up the street at our sister school, than I was in mastering the physical science equations my teacher assigned for homework. In spite of my scholastic negligence, I knew that my mediocre SAT score was not an accurate measure of my intellect and understood that my subpar GPA in high school was not indicative of my future success in college. I wrote a letter of appeal to the board of admissions which did not go in vain. That August I was on a flight headed to Atlanta to begin my journey in academia at Morehouse College determined to carve out my place of impact and influence within my graduating class.
In my junior year at Morehouse, I was elected captain of the Morehouse college debate team. Come senior year, our team made the St.Louis Pi Kappa Delta Public Speaking and Debate Honors society. Upon its inception, Pi Kappa Delta Public Speaking and Debate Honors Society originally barred African-Americans from obtaining membership, actively participated in it’s National Debate Championship Tournament.
Seventy years later, Morehouse College has become the first HBCU to win a Pi Kappa Delta National Parliamentary Championship and close out both novice and varsity divisions. In addition, four members on the team received the four highest individual Parliamentary debate awards of the night. Later in the year, we went on to defeat Yale in the ‘Great Debate’ and defend our state championship for the third consecutive year. We also gained national recognition as the 16th best team in the country.
I’m proud to say that I have graduated from Morehouse College Cum Laude and with Departmental Honors! I will be teaching english and social studies next year through Teach for America. I plan then to pursue a J.D degree in environmental law from Georgetown or UC Berkeley.” – Austin Williams
