Softball
Favorite athlete: Simone Biles
Favorite team: Florida Gators Softball
Favorite memory competing in sports: Hitting a triple with a tied score, two outs and bases loaded at Nationals and putting my team in the lead.
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: Running straight into a fence while tracking a ball in centerfield.
Music on playlist: Frank Ocean, PinkPantheress, J.Cole, Taylor Swift among others…
Future plans: To study Biology and Global Health (Premed) at Harvard in the fall
Words to live by: “Everything happens for a reason.”
One goal before turning 30: To travel to Spain and Argentina
One thing people don’t know about me: I have two middle names.
By GORDON GLANTZ
On the wall of the bedroom of Joelle Williams hangs the Langston Hughes poem “See It Through.”
It was given to her by her father, Ralph, who pledged into the Omega Psi Phi fraternity at Kean University by reciting the same poem about not giving up.
Williams, despite a class rank of 4th and a weighted GPA of nearly 5.2 at Cheltenham High School, was sometimes unsure if she could achieve the goals she laid for herself by applying to more than 25 of the best colleges in the nation for pre-med.
As it turned out, the two-time softball captain batted close to 1.000 in the application process and found herself in the driver’s seat. Her final choices came down to likely destination Harvard, as well as Yale and Duke.
She knows she got there on the shoulders of many, beginning with Ralph and her mom, Leslie.
“My parents have always been my biggest supporters and my biggest fans,” she said. “I owe a lot to them. They always pushed me and always believed in me, even when I haven’t always believed in myself. They have always been there to support me, and I really appreciate that. I don’t think I’d be where I am today if it weren’t for them and their support.”
In addition to her parents, Williams mentioned her siblings – brother, Jordan, and sister, Gianna.
“I can go to (Gianna) with a lot of whatever I’m going through and I don’t have to put up a face,” she said. “I could tell her how I feel and she really hears me. I could call her sobbing, crying. She is always there.
“My brother has also been very encouraging. I have received nothing but encouragement from my family, and I’m really appreciative.”
Narrowing It Down
The inherent family support system has been put to the test, as Gianna has a heart condition that required the family to work together on being vigilant.
This is what inspired Williams’ interest into not only medicine, but into becoming a cardiologist, a field that was further cemented after interning at Abington Hospital during the summer.
“The only thing that was in my way of being sure was to see it in person, so that really solidified things for me,” she said.
As for narrowing her college choice to the final three, she was looking for schools that went beyond the laboratory.
She said: “Since I want to be a doctor, I was able to narrow it down to the schools that I felt had the strongest pre-med programs and also be in an urban environment where I could get involved in shadowing and volunteer opportunities. But, I didn’t want just a super science-heavy education. I really like the liberal arts approach that Harvard, Yale and Duke have. I was able to narrow it down to those three pretty quickly.”
The onset of COVID-19, which she realizes has not been conquered, has also influenced how and why she wants to study medicine.
For better or worse, she is a child of the pandemic. She figures she may as well face it, head on, and learn from it.
“We’re still in the pandemic, but after the pandemic started, it kind of opened my eyes,” said Williams. “There are more than just biological determinants of health. It’s not just one’s body and genetic makeup that predisposes them to certain diseases. That is real interesting to me, learning about how the environment can impact one’s access to resources.
“There is the quality of air and food they have. That can lead to conditions like cancer and heart disease. It seemed like a complex field that is important in medicine, in terms of a bird’s eye view of how it worked.”
Born to Play
To talk about Williams – the class president, president of the Spanish Honors Society and vice president of the Women in Science Club – her lifelong involvement in softball cannot be ignored.
She began playing the sport as a toddler, played one year of 14U-level travel ball for the Ambler eXpress.
“It was a big commitment,” said Williams. “I just wanted to make sure I was focusing on school and just keep my priorities in order.”
Williams has started four seasons at Cheltenham, primarily at shortstop (she mostly in center field on her travel team).
The Panthers have won just one game, so far, since then.
Still, she has yet to put her head down. She sees a big picture, and with that Langston Hughes poem etched in her soul, she presses on.
“Honestly, it’s been hard, with the losses, but I still see pleasure in the journey,” said Williams. “I enjoy practicing and I just feel like, despite the losses, that I’m personally improving and I can see the team improving. Even though it hasn’t really manifested in our record, we are leaps and bounds from where we started my freshman year.”
Head coach Alicia Maiorano, affectionately known as “Coach H” to her players, is eternally grateful for Williams and her positive influence on the team, not just as a player and a leader but as a student-athlete.
“Her education is very important to her,” said the coach. “I know it comes first. She has managed it very well with softball.
“She is that kind of a player who is constantly striving to improve. She will ask what she needs to work on, and she will take feedback.”
Maiorano and Williams agree that she was more of a leader by example as a junior captain with seniors on the roster and is now more vocal as a senior.
“She is the kind of a kid who I trust to take the lead on her own,” said Maiorano. “I will ask her what she thinks. She will not only come back with what she thinks, but she will have a plan for it.
“I can see how the girls look up to her, and how they will follow her and listen to what she says. Joelle is a good example of what a student-athlete should be.”
Williams, for her part, knows that captain is more than just an honorary title conferred upon her for being a four-year starter.
“I take it very seriously,” she said. “I’m really proud to be the captain. I find great joy in leading the team.”
True Humility
Williams’ doubts about getting into some of the top colleges in the world for one of the more difficult majors there is was not isolated.
According to Maiorano, her shortstop seems shocked to receive any well-deserved accolades.
“One of my favorite things about Joelle is her humility,” said the coach. “She is always surprised (about receiving honors). She is just such a good student, and always trying her best, and is just always so surprised. That’s definitely one of my favorite things about her.”
When the season comes to an end, it will likely mean the end of any softball above the intramural team, and she will accept it with the same grace and humility.
“I am thankful for the sport,” she said, adding that Maiorano, and all other coaches along the way, provided unforgettable support. “I spent many years playing the sport. I made many lifelong friends playing the sport. There is a level of trust you can have for your teammates that you can’t have anywhere else. I really trust these girls. It’s like a family. I owe a lot to the sport, and I’m thankful for my years in it.”
