“There are a lot of educators in my family, and that has been a huge influence on me. My mom and my sister, Lisa, were both so instrumental in my decision to go into teaching. At a young age, I loved reading, and I think that my love for books just kind of opened the door for me to become an English instructor.

I started teaching English at Walker High School in 2002 and left in 2010. Now, I’ve been teaching full time at Bevill State for the last 3 years. The best part of this is that I really feel like I’ve come full circle. I began as a student at Bevill, and now I feel like I’m here to give back to the students and the community like they gave to me.

My love for English has carried over into other facets of my life – next month, I’ll be participating in the “I Love Lucy” dinner theater benefiting the Walker County Arts Alliance. When I was approached to star as Lucy I was hesitant – I have 2 small kids and a full-time job. When we read the script, I was hooked. It’s been fabulous, and I feel like it’s going to be such a fun production for everyone.”

-Mandy Williams, English Instructor at Bevill State Community College

Photo + Interview by Blakeney Clouse