1 50 1 https://digitalsc.lib.vt.edu/files/original/063dfcaea7d35e17983f96c03d84d8a5.png fda2ad466b95946e540da9ce371b936d https://digitalsc.lib.vt.edu/files/original/2539924990cec9ac5b461d95288f0e14.mp3 de3b5a59a3e3a965d235845c2218aba8 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource VT Stories Oral History Collection (Ms2016-015) Subject The topic of the resource University history Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Ms2016-015 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="https://digitalsc.lib.vt.edu/files/thumbnails/spec_forms/PubPermission.doc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Permission to publish material from the VT Stories Oral History Collection must be obtained from Special Collections, Virginia Tech.</a> Rights Holder A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource. <a href="http://spec.lib.vt.edu" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries, Virginia Tech</a> Description An account of the resource Initiated in 2015 by the President’s Office and managed by faculty and staff in History, English, TLOS, VT Libraries, and the Alumni Association, the VT Stories Oral History Project collects and examines stories, memories, tall tales, tragedies, and triumphs of all members of the Hokie community to help us know our shared history and to make sense of it. At the heart of the project is Hokies interviewing Hokies—largely student-staffed and trained by oral historians, interviewers engage with VT Alumni to learn their history and to make mentoring connections that go beyond the student experience. As we seek to understand why Virginia Tech is top rated in its success in engaging alumni, we highlight the exciting, memorable, historic moments in Hokie lives that have forged strong and enduring connections. Any questions regarding this collection should be directed to Ren Harman, Oral History Projects Archivist, harman07@vt.edu Is Referenced By A related resource that references, cites, or otherwise points to the described resource. <a href="http://vtstories.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">VT Stories</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview. Ren Harman Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 1:13:58 Viewer Select which type of viewer is needed for the files OHMS Narrator A person being interviewed during an oral history recording. Kimberly Williams Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource VT Stories Oral History with Kimberly Williams, March 20, 2017 (Ms2016-015) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Ms2016-015_KimberlyWilliams Subject The topic of the resource University History Description An account of the resource For Kimberly Williams, Virginia Tech has filled many roles. From 2002 to 2008 it was her university, and recently her place of employment – but it is, and has been, much more. A graduate of the class of 2008, she majored in psychology with sociology and creative writing minors. She went on to do home-based counseling, worked with the Radford Women’s Resource Center, and earned her M.F.A. degree at Cornell University where she taught courses on African-American Science Fiction and Feminist Memoir. Now, she serves as Assistant Director for the VT Black Cultural Center, focusing on its restoration. Virginia Tech was the springboard for Williams’s career. Today, she gives back to the community she calls home in hopes of providing others with the opportunities to follow their dreams – just like she did. Kimberly was raised in an Air Force family; she never stayed in one place for very long. While maintaining friendships was difficult, she was fortunate to visit different places and experience their cultures including Paris and Germany. Her family prioritized education highly; from a young age, Williams knew college was guaranteed in her future. She has loved for as long as she can remember and aspired to be a poet despite her parents’ reluctance towards the idea. The first time she visited campus she noticed a lot of diverse candidacy and students. Coming from a small high school class, Williams anticipated expanding her community, experiences, and identity. Virginia Tech’s beautiful campus and outreach contributed to her final decision to attend, as well as having Nikki Giovanni on the faculty. One of her first memories of attending Tech was noticing the strong sense of community and school pride in the area; the sheer volume of VT gear seen on locals was humorously “borderline cultish.” Unfortunately, Williams felt intense pressure as a minority on campus, especially during a time when tensions regarding affirmative action. Her parents encouraged her to stick it out despite issues like feeling alienated and receiving degrading messages on her door. The Black Cultural Center served as a refuge where Williams felt like she could be herself; there she found like-minded people who shared her struggles and fears. The support system of the Black Cultural Center was so important to her and other students – it was a place where they didn’t have to worry about differences and could “just be.” Despite struggles in the classroom, Williams had several professors and mentors who stood out to her, namely Nikki Giovanni. The mentors she had helped to open her eyes to social justice and her own potential. One of her favorite memories from her undergraduate years at Tech is when she received the Women’s Coordinator of the Year for creating an international women’s organization after learning about issues in Sudan. Other fond memories include cooking for friends, enjoying dinner with mentors, and eating turkey legs at football games. After graduation, Williams transitioned into a home based counseling job for a grueling seven and a half months before transferring to a job at the Radford’s Women’s Resource Center. Her counseling position taught her perseverance and patience with relationships; she had to navigate through racism and sexism in order to establish a beneficial rapport with her clients. She then decided to attend Cornell University for graduate school after helpful recommendations from Nikki Giovanni and others. From there, she dabbled in teaching English and working in administration at Hamilton College. It came full circle when she returned to Virginia Tech to work in diversity, working specifically with student advocacy, support, advising, mentoring, and faculty collaborations. While she recognizes that diversity and inclusion at Virginia Tech have a long way to go, she is happy to have the familiarity and community of the university once again. In the near future, Williams would like to see Tech offer development and support in queer studies, an infrastructure of diversity and inclusion, counseling staff, and fully funded programs for students to study abroad. She envisions incorporating arts into other areas of learning – turning STEM to STEAM. In her experience, if it were not for the support given by mentors and friends, Williams would not be where she is today. Now, she aims to be that same support for students who experience the same struggles she did. It is students that inspire her daily and motivate her to continue giving back. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-03-20 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Permission to publish material from the VT Stories Oral History Collection must be obtained from Special Collections, Virginia Tech. Is Referenced By A related resource that references, cites, or otherwise points to the described resource. <a href="http://vtstories.org/2017/10/19/kimberly-williams/" target="_blank">Kimberly Williams, VT Stories</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral histories Rights Holder A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource. Special Collections, University Libraries, Virginia Tech References A related resource that is referenced, cited, or otherwise pointed to by the described resource. <a href="https://oralhistory-dev.cloud.lib.vt.edu/ohms-viewer/viewer.php?cachefile=Ms2016-015_KimberlyWilliams.xml" target="blank">Click here for synced audio and transcript</a> archived