First generation college graduate Emma Williams has earned dual degrees at Georgia Southern University (GS), all while acting as an intelligence analyst for the U.S. Navy.
Williams graduated from GS’s Honors College on Dec. 13 with dual degrees in political science and philosophy.
“I took the class and I fell in love with philosophy. I love questioning why we think the way we think and the morality and ethics behind decisions we make,” said Williams.
During her second semester at GS, Williams decided to enlist in the Navy to find camaraderie.
Following training, Williams was stationed in Jacksonville. Her unit supports the Naval Central Command in Manama, Bahrainan. She also traveled to Bahrain to complete a 30-day tour that included intelligence work.
While earning her degrees at GS, Williams won a coveted spot on the university’s Model United Nations delegation.
As a member of the delegation she competed for three years, representing Greece, Ireland and Afghanistan, for whom she served on the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.
“It opened up my eyes to being a developing country, and going into a simulation and trying to represent your country when you have basically no resources,” she said.
“And then that was vastly different than Greece that also has a refugee crisis. But they’re a European Union nation, so they have a lot more resources available to them. So it’s interesting to see the backdrop between a developing nation and our developed nation.”
According to Williams, the role taught her invaluable lessons about public speaking, writing and diplomacy on an international stage.
“College completely changed the way that I thought about the world. It completely changed my personal ethos, the way I live. It’s made me more conscious about what other people think,” she said.
Williams is the first in her family to attend and graduate college, as well as the first in her family to join the Navy.
Following graduation, she plans to return to her duty with the Navy and will be applying to law school in the future.
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