Voices of Making Waves: Meet Chaylah Williams
“You just have to be you. Stop comparing yourself to others because everyone is different,” shared Chaylah Williams (she/her), a graduating senior at Loyola Marymount University and a Making Waves Academy alumni.
It wasn’t always this simple for Chaylah. She spent her first two years as a first-generation college student deciding on a college major, finally settling on two distinct but complementary majors: art history and public relations.
Living in Los Angeles presented the perfect opportunity for her to maximize her network and make her name in the public relations field.
“I needed to find a lucrative field,” she shared. “For me, it was either sports, music, entertainment or even beauty.”
Chaylah explored her career options, working throughout Loyola Marymount University. She was a student support specialist, a social media assistant in the communications department, and a game presentation and promoter in the athletics department. The magic of her work lies not only in the details but in the experience it provides for students.
“I like being a part of somebody’s experience, and to curate it as well,” shared Chaylah.
She also has held multiple social media and PR positions for major companies and organizations like the Smithsonian African American Museum in Washington, DC as a media intern and the Los Angeles Rams as a part of an apprenticeship program to learn more about sports marketing.
Through all her internship and career experiences, Chaylah built community and learned about what she wants to focus on after college graduation.
“I love art, but I wanted to be on the public relations and marketing side.”
“Now that I’ve graduated, I’ll be back in the fall to complete my master’s degree in entertainment leadership and management. Then I’ll start law school for sports and entertainment law.”
As Chaylah looks back on her college years as a formative time to discover her passions, she shared that her experience was not without uncertainty as a first-generation, Black college student attending a Primarily White Institution, or PWI.
Loyola Marymount’s student population is 8% African American so there weren’t many students in her classes that looked like her or with a similar background, much less in her field. This was even more on Chaylah’s mind after visiting places like Howard University, a Historically Black College and University, or HBCU, and often being asked where she was from by other college students.
“College is a culture shock,” she reflected. “It can be hard to be yourself in a room full of people you’ve never know before.”
Yet, Chaylah’s community could not be simply defined by school or where she’s from. It’s what she created.
“I’ve made a lot of connections. High school is your community when you’re 16 and then you grow up and become a part of other communities and you become an impact on other people’s lives that you’ve never met before, then that becomes normal, then you graduate from college,” Chaylah shared.
Chaylah stays in touch with the community she had at Making Waves Academy and with her current college success coach at Making Waves Education Foundation, Dr. Antonio Martinez, who was an associate dean at the academy, something Chaylah describes as full circle moment.
“Growing with Dr. Martinez from high school to being in my last year as a senior in college and to have him see how my dynamic and mindset has changed is incredible,” Chaylah shared.
“It’s a comfortable feeling, but it’s also very helpful because he knows what my goals are, what I’m passionate about, and he knows me as a person.”
“It’s not even community, they are family,” Chaylah shared reflecting on her support from Making Waves.
Now a first-generation college graduate pursuing her dreams in public relations, Chaylah leaves some advice for students who share similar struggles and successes:
“Know where you’re going, why you’re going, and know what you’re going to do when you get there.”