Residing Resilience

An unwavering whisper to return to her studies echoed every day for Amiesha Williams, BIS ’23. The mother of seven found her footing as she watched her eldest son Marcellous prepare for his college journey, and he nudged her to join him.

“When he was starting college after high school, I filled out his FAFSA, and he asked me when I was going to do mine because I always wanted to go back to school,” Williams says. “But with so many children, the timing never seemed right. I’m not sure what made me think the best timing was starting when my seventh child was just four months old, but I did. I started going full time with my son Marcellous.”

Just as they began their journeys, her son suddenly died. His memory only strengthened Williams’ commitment to stay the course. “I knew I had to continue, initially for him and then ultimately for myself,” she says.

Amiesha Williams is an American Sign Language instructor for the American Sign Language Club at the International Academy of Macomb.

After completing her associate’s degree, Williams sought the next step in her education and found her balance at Oakland University. Pursuing a Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies, she embraced designing her own plan of study, incorporating human resource management, communication and deaf studies.

Easing toward the finish line in her bachelor’s program, tragedy struck her family once again: Her husband unexpectedly lost his sight, rendering him unable to work. Even so, Williams did not waver. In fact, her challenges “fueled” her to persevere for a firmer foundation for her family.

“In the face of devastating loss, I continued to encounter numerous setbacks … and I was thrust into the role of sole provider for my household and primary caregiver to my husband,” Williams says. “Despite these hardships, I persisted, successfully obtaining my degree.”

As homework deadlines inched closer, some of her elder children would offer a coffee refresh, taking on dinner for the night or directly dissecting the homework together. While Williams’ children tried to elevate some juggling, her role as a mother always came first.

“The funniest thing is remembering our kitchen table being riddled with books and papers and calculators because we were all doing homework, and in the midst of a timed test, my children would still require me to be their mom, their present mom,” Williams says.

In one instance, Williams considered how she would help her daughter get braces, not wanting her to miss out on any milestones. Seeking a solution, she decided to explore substitute teaching as an intermediate option. Eventually this choice established her as a regular substitute teacher at L’Anse Creuse Middle School East and influenced her path to American Sign Language instruction for the American Sign Language Club at the International Academy of Macomb. Without missing a beat, each thread of her coursework began to weave into her life sooner than she could’ve expected.

“Nothing happens by coincidence,” Williams says.