As we celebrate the class of 2025, we also want to recognize former Communities In Schools (CIS) students who are giving back to the graduates of today. One of those is Charlie Williams, an author and motivational speaker, who got his start in CIS after moving to Rocky Mount when he was in middle school. One of his teachers recommended him for the program, “she actually presented how the program will benefit me and how I am as a person,” Williams says. “Growing up in the city and coming down to the South, it was like I needed a community to bring me to bring me to that point where I need to be intentional about my steps, you know.”

Williams stayed in the program through middle and high school, wrapping him and other students in community support, giving him role models to look up to. As the youngest of seven, he was the first to graduate high school and go to college, with CIS helping him all along the way. “CIS gave that to me, letting me know what’s possible other than just being an athlete or being somewhere else. It was like, yeah, you can be an engineer. You can be a doctor, you can embrace entrepreneurship… it’s all about who you know, who you’re around.”

The support from CIS helped Williams through the application process for college, walking him through every step of the way and giving him the knowledge of how many more paths were open to him. “Because before that, when I got to high school, I didn’t have any knowledge about HBCUs or none of that? It was just like NC State or Maryland University, or Notre Dame, you know, big schools.” Williams was able to attend Fayetteville State University with a scholarship right out of high school.

Now Williams has gone from the mentee to the mentor, leading by example and giving students who are where he once was a look at what they can become. He shares his story and the lessons he learned with others. “Communication solves a lot of things. Being able to network… that takes you a long way.” It is that desire to learn and network that has helped him and will help others as well. “I respect all people because it’s like you never know what knowledge, wisdom, and understanding you can get from all types of people you know.”

For this year’s graduates, Williams offered these words of wisdom as they step out into the wider world: “Find your authentic self, Don’t try to be someone else. Sometimes you can get lost trying to copy other people, but the main goal is to find your identity. Now you’ve got a chance to recreate yourself, recreate yourself and be the person that you want to be, but you have to be able to develop habits and stay consistent with those habits so you can be that.”