Profiles of Local Excellence: An Interview with Dawn Williams

Perhaps you are thinking that there should be more to your life than just what you are doing as a student. It certainly must seem daunting to invest ANY of your time into something not immediately applicable to your graduate career; maybe even impossible. This is, thankfully,not the case. Even as a full time student researcher or instructor, you can have a life outside of your department. And, sometimes, you can be making a difference in the lives of others. Keeping that in mind, we’ve interviewed a student who exemplifies one who can excel both academically in the community. Dawn Williams is a third year in the Language, Literacy, Society and Culture program in the Education department. The former External Affairs Vice President, she was a co-recipient of an award for graduate student excellence this year. If you thought reaching out locally would be impossible,perhaps this will prove that you too can be an active member of the Berkeley community.

Where are you from?
DW: Hoo, that's an interesting question. I've lived in Texas, Arizona, and California;but I was born in California. Newport Beach, and then I've lived most of my life hereabouts. In Newport Beach, Long Beach, Wilmington,Fresno,San Francisco,and Oakland.

Where did you do your undergraduate work?
DW: Arizona State.

Cool. Did you like it there?
DW: It was hot. AZ was also going through a lot of political climate changes. Evan Mecham was the governor when I was there;he was the one that was known for being a racist--there was no MLK holiday when all that stuff went down; and it was the Superbowl that changed it: when all the pro football players would refuse to play when the Superbowl was in Phoenix and the city was standing to lose a LOT of money. That's what changed it.So that was interesting.

Do you know how many years until you're going to get out of here?
DW: HA, that's another good question.Um,probably 3.

I'd imagine that's probably the average in most departments...maybe. So tell me about this award...
DW: I guess I got a graduate student uh...hehe, I'm not even sure what the award says;I'm in the process of moving,so I don't even know what's on the plaque because just kinda' got it and packed it in a box. I didn't even get to attend the award ceremony because I found out about it so late. But, I think what it has to do with is basically...many graduate students are too busy to do anything besides grad school,and I think that the undergrads in the the Black Recruitment and Retention Center in the African American Student Development Office were probably seeing that I was able to devote a lot of time to working with undergrads. There was a black movement class that was an independent class last fall semester, and in that capacity I sort of served as a mentor for black undergrad students along with Kofi Charu Nat Turner. In that process we talked a lot about going to graduate school and the importance of working collectively...I have also done a lot of work with education and incarceration, both in the community and the grad assembly,so I brought a lot of that to the class and was able to recruit some of the undergrads to go with me and teach at local high schools...so really I guess it was mostly about serving as a mentor.

How did you get involved with the BRRC initially?
DW:Um,you know,I think there was just some name dropping.I don't know who for sure... Dave Stark from Stiles hall was one of the people organizing
this class;...and Lamont Snare and Danika Thomas, they were undergraduates at Berkeley but then they graduated and were looking for some grad-
uate students who'd commit to joining this class and serving as mentors;and I have the feeling they got my name from Cynthia Molina who was
External Affairs Vice President before I took the position in January. I was working for the campus community organizer at the GA, so I think that
was how it was all hooked up.

So...and this is really my most important question: Where do you get your time from, in order to be able to go and mentor undergraduates and teach high school students and what not...Do you ever sleep?
DW: No, I don't sleep very much...let's see. In budgeting time, I tend to do what's close to my heart-- even in grad school,doing research,it's got to be close to my heart otherwise I can't devote the time or energy to it. There's got to be some passion in what I'm doing. I taught for 5 years before entering grad school at the middle school and high school level. And just knowing the importance of education and seeing these students in undergrad and where they're going with the choices that they're making and where they're going with their majors are...I know I did a lot of plugging for the school of education because I see that as a vehicle for change:too often,we as black students are pushed into these fields...to become business majors or whatever where you need to work for somebody else--we need to be able to work for ourselves and not choose a job that's going to pay all this money if we're going to be working for somebody else because I don't think that serves the community in the way that “...but these are things that I'm really passionate about and that is what enables me to just go do it, you know?” I firmly believe in supporting black economics and using our money to make our communities thrive.I feel that education is a vehicle for that change because we can be in the classrooms and we can rewrite history and just rethink the way that students are taught.

So you just put all your time into this then?
DW:Well, the cool thing was that it was a class,right,so we'd have a scheduled 2 or 3 hours every week to devote to an issue. I know Kofi did a lot talking about reparations and it was like we were teaching that class.I did a seminar on education and incarceration and there was the one on reparations and we had discussion groups on various issues; that was the main crux of time in that mentor capacity. Just trying to get it to all tie together,writing papers and making all these disparate ideas one take home message, that was the big challenge.

Hm...about time management:It's really hard.Because I feel...I taught in West Africa the year before graduate school and I became really conscious of a different way of living;a more simple way of living; and I was able to appreciate having a car and going to the farmers market eating fresh food,not boxed or canned or T.V.dinners...just recognizing that there's a different way to live-- more simply,more healthily,more conscientiously--that makes it really difficult because it's really easy to just go get some fast food or make it out of a box or whatever, but it takes a lot of time to really prepare things right...but these are things that I'm really passionate about and that is what enables me to just go do it, you know? I don't know where I get my time from... My little weekly trip to the farmers market,I'll read my book,or read the reader on the bus..it's all that kind of scheduling.I think the bus is great;you know, you can always read on the bus for a little bit.

Don't get me wrong,things DO suffer when you put too much into things, you know...I know my first semester...er..fall semester of this last
year wasn't so hot academically, but spring is better...you know, it's graduate school...grades don't matter SO much...I don't know if that should be
put in though.

Heh, of course it should. Well, cool. Thanks so much for agreeing to do this interview.