A star is rising.
When you hear the words from the popular song by Drake, “Started from the Bottom Now I’m Here,” those words should be synonymous with the name Jolisa Williams.
Why, do you say? Well, Jolisa began her sports information journey as a student, and this summer she will be honored by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) in Las Vegas during the annual CoSIDA Convention with a Rising Star Award. The award is given to a member with 10 years of service or less whose work, service, dedication, energy, and enthusiasm for the profession make that individual a "rising star" in athletic communications.
Jolisa was a senior at St. Augustine’s College (now University) in Raleigh, N.C. when she first was introduced to the profession. She had just finished playing basketball and signed up to intern with sports information director Anthony Jefferies. Jolisa had no plans of making sports information a career but signed up anyway.
"At first, she did not want to be a SID. She thought SIDs had no life because she saw the workload first-hand,” recalls Jefferies. “But her interest piqued during her brief time as an intern, and her career took off when she attended Virginia State University as a graduate student.”
In 2012, Jolisa began her master’s program at Virginia State, where she served as a graduate assistant in the sports information office and as Jefferies said, she took off.Upon receiving her masters in 2014, Jolisa began her full-time career at Richard Bland College in Petersburg, Va. She was confident that she was prepared to manage things on her own, so she stepped out on faith.
“I was ready to get a full-time opportunity somewhere after earning my masters,” Jolisa said. “I wanted to run my show because I felt like I was ready and really looking for something full-time.”
Early on, Jolisa’s confidence as well as her hard work and dedication was on display.
“Jolisa has always been impressive since the first days of her being a student in my class and me serving as her faculty advisor. Her hard work, discipline and drive shows in the way she immerses herself in her work,” noted Dr. Kristene Kelly, one of Jolisa’s mentors who is the Deputy AD for Internal Affairs/SWA Vanderbilt University – and a former SID herself. “I am not the least bit surprised to see her quick ascent in the world of athletic communications. She is most deserving of this CoSIDA Rising Star Award, and I cannot wait to see what is next for her on this professional journey,”
After spending less than a year at Richard Bland, Jolisa once again stepped out on faith, taking a job at Shaw University in 2015. Shaw is a member of one of the premier NCAA Division II conferences, the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (CIAA). It was at Shaw where Jolisa soared. She took the Bears by the claws — pun intended — and made the position her own.
She not only excelled in the day-to-day business in her shop, but she also made a name for herself at the conference level.
In just two short years at the helm, Williams was named the CIAA John Holley Sports Information Director of the Year in 2017. That same year, she was elected to her first stint as CIAA-Sports Information Directors Association (SIDA) President, a position she still holds today.
Because of her tireless efforts and leadership as a member of the CIAA Management Council as well as the head of the SIDs, just two years later (2019) received her second Sports Information Director of the Year award.
“Jolisa has been an integral part of our conference throughout her career. Her leadership, serving as both the President of the CIAA-SIDA and a member of the CIAA Management Council, has been quintessential in helping move the conference and our athletic communications association forward,” said Ben Baxter, CIAA Associate Commissioner for Strategic Marketing & External Operations.
“Jolisa serves as a great resource for her colleagues around the conference, and externally, with her knowledge, expertise, and experience within the profession.”
Williams has expressed an immense amount of gratitude for receiving the award.
“Receiving the CoSIDA Rising Star Award means a great deal,” noted Williams. “I would’ve never have thought I’d be recognized for something of this magnitude. I certainly wouldn’t be where I am today without the help of my mentors Peggy Davis, Kristene Kelly and Romanda Noble-Watson, along with colleagues Allie De Witt, Evann Carpenter, John Westbrook, Greg Goings, April Emory and Adrian Ferguson … and the list can go on). I also thank those at the CIAA and organizations such as the Black CoSIDA for being supportive and willing to assist me in areas I needed help in.”
In the summer of 2021, building on her successes at Shaw, Williams was named the Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations at fellow CIAA institution Bowie State University. And, more success is coming as Jolisa is on pace to receive her Ph.D. in athletic administration from Northcentral University (located in San Diego) later in 2022.
Jefferies wraps up Jolisa’s short career best.
“Jolisa became an outstanding SID in a very short period,” Jeffries said. “I am so proud of her. You never know what God has in store for you."
Jolisa offers words of encouragement to the next generation of young women.
“I hope that me receiving this award shows the next generation that anything is capable despite the significantly low number of African American women being in this profession. I hope that I can be somewhat of inspiration as my mentors and leaders in athletic administration were to me.”
Original source can be found here.
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