Our Alumni Spotlight series will be an ongoing feature, highlighting former student-athletes and catching up on where their journeys have taken them after graduation. Kendell Williams, former Georgia Women’s Track & Field student-athlete, graduated in 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in Advertising and a master’s degree in Project Management in 2021 from DeVry University. She also obtained a second master’s degree in Public Relations and Applied Communications in 2022 from the University of Georgia.
Can you tell us about your current career and what you are doing now?
After several years training and competing as a professional athlete for Team USA and Nike, I have recently retired and now work as a marketing coordinator on the US Client Marketing Team at Visa.
How did your experience as a student-athlete prepare you for your professional career?
My experience as a student-athlete had a huge impact on my professional career. As a student-athlete I learned time management, discipline, resilience, leadership, work ethic, how to work as a team, and so many more skills that are transferable in any work environment. Before transitioning into my current job, I thought the working world would be completely different than the sports world. However, I quickly realized that I could apply the same qualities that helped me succeed in sports to thrive in this new field.
What was the most important lesson you learned from balancing academics, athletics, and your personal life during college?
It’s important to try and keep a good balance of academics, athletics, and personal life, but also remember your goals and priorities. As something starts to feel out of balance (i.e. more fatigued at practice, feeling burnout, or noticing your grades starting to slip, etc.) then it’s time to reassess and determine how you can get back to a healthier balance and keep working towards your goals.
What is one thing you wish you had known about life after sports before you graduated?
I wish I would have been prepared for what “regular life” looked like. Instead of practice, treatment, and class taking up the majority of the day, now most of my days are spent in an office and I have to be more intentional about building in time for workouts or my other hobbies. It was also an adjustment to go from my coach creating the practice and lifting program to having to construct workouts on my own!
Looking back, what advice would you give to current student-athletes who are trying to navigate life after college and sport?
My advice would be to leverage the connections you made while you were in school/in your sport when looking for job opportunities and/or mentorship and advice. Always remember that the skills you’ve acquired as a student-athlete are extremely valuable in the workplace. Lastly, find a workout regimen or hobbies that you enjoy that will help fill the void of not having a super regimented schedule like you had when you were an athlete.
When you think about your time as a Bulldog, what is one moment that stands out the most?
My time at the University of Georgia was so special. I met the most amazing group of friends and accomplished more than I could’ve dreamed of. It’s hard to choose just one moment that stands out, but I’ll say Saturdays in Athens, standing in the student section of Sanford Stadium, and cheering for the Dawgs along with thousands of other students and UGA fans was an unforgettable experience.
