Quez Williams – overcoming adversity

Heather Ainsley
ECB Publishing, Inc.

On Friday, May 12, the local Rotary Club came together for a very special celebration. As everyone gathered together at the table for their usual meeting, Rotary President Anna Likos announced that their guest of honor was none other than Quez Williams, who had made the significant achievement of earning his high school diploma through the Turning Point alternative school.
Williams was discovered by the Rotary club while working at the Rotary Youth Camp with his brother. Williams is 19 years old and is the eldest of all his siblings. During his high school years, he fell behind in his schoolwork as a direct result of some conflict at home, and although he managed to finish his senior year with decent grades, he was short on credits that would earn him his diploma. As such, when Williams made his way across the graduation stage after completing his final year at school, he was actually just half a year's worth of credits short from achieving his goal of graduating with a diploma.
When certain members of the Rotary Club discovered how close Williams was to completing his requirements for a high school diploma, they made it their personal goal to help him reach his goal of graduation by providing him with resources, advice and mentorship that he used to motivate himself to attend the Turning Point school and complete his schooling. As of this May, all of his hard work has paid off, and Quez Williams has officially completed all of his required credits and has earned his diploma at last!
Members of the school district, Turning Point and Jefferson K-12 attended the special Rotary celebration to congratulate Williams and wish him well on his future endeavors.
Eydie Triquet introduced several guests who had come out in support of Williams, including Dan Moore, who is an administrator at Turning Point, Mona Lewis, who is an instructor at Turning Point and Allyn Howard, who works as Director of Special Education for the Jefferson County School District. She also introduced Hines Boyd, husband of Janegale Boyd, who worked very closely with Williams throughout his efforts at Turning Point. Triquet spoke for a short while about the importance of Turning Point, and the significance of offering disadvantaged youths the chance to catch up on credits that prevent them from completing their schooling.
She mentioned that in the beginning of the year, in August, there were just 12 seniors that were ready to graduate, but currently, there were now 28 seniors that are ready to graduate. She mentioned also that the district will be offering students extra time in June to finish up their necessary credits and earn their diploma. For these students, there will be another graduation ceremony held at the end of June to celebrate their achievement.
“This year, every child that goes across that stage will have their diploma!” she stated proudly.
Sheriff Mac McNeill spoke out about how pleased he was to see Triquet and the others come out in support of Williams, and continued, saying, “I just want to say, also, how happy I am at what a great job she is doing down there – that school has made a 180, and you all are doing a fantastic job.”
Mona Lewis spoke next, saying, “We want to thank [the Rotary club] for being an organization who took an interest in one kid.”
“Quez came to turning point when I was still the administrator,” said Allyn Howard, directing her attention to Hines Boyd, “and your wife was one of the ones who was calling me, and who was trying to constantly follow up to make sure that he came back and finished the classes that he needed to finish in order to graduate. She was very much involved, and was pushing him and encouraging him, and would check in with us, and would check in with Ms. Lewis and I know that it was a part of him coming back and getting those credits. I know that she pushed him hard, and that was a part of his success.”
“Let me say this,” says Hines Boyd. “This was not an easy problem to solve; We kept hitting barriers. The barriers were everywhere. There were a lot of personal barriers that Quez was facing that were really no fault of his own.”
Quez then stood before the group and said, “I am thankful for everyone who showed up today. I'm very proud of this achievement. I am very thankful for all Ms. Janegale and Ms. Joyce have done for me to get to this point.”
He presented flowers to some of his mentors, and revealed that he would be working as a camp counselor this summer, and plans on getting some financial aid together so that he can attend college in the fall. He has his sights set on attending a welding school, and is considering local options as well as options for a good school in Missouri.
Williams offered encouragement to anyone struggling to finish their schooling.
“My best advice,” he said, “is to not fall behind. Try and stay on top of all your school work, and if you do start to slip, push harder. When you feel like you aren't capable of doing it, put your trust in God. God knows you can do it. He knows everything you are trying to do, and He will always be right there by your side.”
Williams has achieved what many disadvantaged youths never can. He has worked hard to overcome difficult circumstances at home that distracted him from his schooling and has earned his diploma in spite of the hardships he has faced. With the help of a dedicated team of educators and administrators, Williams is one step closer to a vibrant and productive future. Congratulations, Quez! Best of luck to you in all your future endeavors!