Ashley Williams

In December of 2021, Ashley Williams graduated with a bachelor’s degree from CUNY City College after many trials and tribulations, but most importantly, perseverance—and she feels like she has finally conquered her Goliath. Ashley started her college journey in 2016 at Spelman College. After realizing the financial bind that she was in at Spelman, Ashley made the decision to come back to NYC and attend a CUNY School. Ashley attended two other CUNY schools before she felt at home at City College. “I went through a lot of personal issues that made my journey an uphill battle. As a woman of God, I know I persevered because he was on the journey with me. My support system helped make it possible. For me, not wanting to become a victim of my circumstance is what kept me going and continues to keep me striving for more in my life.”

“For me, not wanting to become a victim of my circumstance is what kept me going and continues to keep me striving for more in my life.”

Ashley felt at home at City College; it was the first school post-Spelman that had a real campus feel to it. She appreciated the diversity on campus as well. After Ashley found her home at City College, she decided to take the campus by storm. Ashley became a member of The Devastating Divas of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. During her time at City College, she served as president, secretary, and treasurer. She dedicated service hours not only to her campus community, but also to the community outside of City College.

Currently, Ashley is working as a case planner/interventionist within social services, where she serves as an advocate for families. Her next move is to attend nursing school to pursue her career goal of becoming a Nurse Practitioner in psychiatric care. She is extremely passionate about mental health and wants to dedicate herself to helping those with mental illnesses. Her dream is to open her own practice that focuses on mental health.

“I would tell my freshman self to give herself grace.”

“Looking back, I would tell my freshman self that it’s okay to go at your own pace,” Ashley said. “Everyone has their own expectation and timeline of when things should happen, but don’t lose sight of the process, experience, and knowledge throughout your journey by just focusing on the end result. I would tell my freshman self to give herself grace. My journey to obtaining my degree wasn’t easy, so now that I finally have it, I know was the grace of God. Overall, I’m extremely happy and enjoying the journey moving forward.”