| 2004-05 Recipient
Lt. Lawrence L. Williams, '97
 “Lt.
Lawrence L. Williams, '97, gives Collegiate a lot of credit
for jump-starting his successful career at the United States
Naval Academy, a career that led him after his Academy graduation
in 2001 into the U.S. Navy, residency in San Diego and on
several missions, including one recently to the Persian Gulf.
"LCS did a good job in preparing me for the
academic rigors of the Naval Academy," the 26-year-old said.
"The writing skills that I learned during my years at LCS
gave me a head start when I got to the Academy."
Lawrence was "more prepared" for the Academy
than others in his class. "Because of my education at Collegiate
and my teachers who challenged me, I was able to 'validate'
a semester in chemistry and a semester in calculus."
Eight years later, Collegiate's Alumni Association
is presenting Lawrence with one of its highest honors by "validating"
him as the 2005 Collegiate Young Alumni Award recipient.
Class of 1997
Before entering the Naval Academy, Lawrence
graduated in 1997 from Collegiate as a "Lifer."
Sister Blair Williams, '00, said her brother
had excellent grades in school but not the best time management
skills. "He definitely isn't who he used to be. He is the
same Lawrence but he is responsible now and has time management
which he never had," she said. "The Navy really helped him
figure things out."
Lawrence's mom, Sara Williams, said Collegiate
prepared her son well and that his recent success says something
about the quality of education at the school.
According to his mom, Lawrence had amazing
relationships with his teachers, including Kevin Jackson,
Jan Tedesco, Simon Stern and Ron Johnson. "Lawrence was a
great student. He was friendly, smart, and one heck of a nice
guy," said Ron Johnson, upper school science teacher.
"He was self-motivated and always strived
to do the best job he could possibly do. He was also keenly
interested in the sciences, and he was also very down-to-earth
and could laugh at his own foibles."
His calculus teacher, Simon Stern said: "Lawrence
was a terrific kid. He embodied all the character traits we
try to instill in students, he was a strong and hard-working
student, and a great kid to coach as well as teach."
Lawrence's classmate Powell Jose said: "I
always knew Lawrence would be successful given his dedicated
and hardworking nature. But despite his successes at both
Collegiate and the Naval Academy, what impresses me most about
Lawrence is his affable and humble personality. He possesses
a unique ability to laugh and get along with anyone he meets."
Classmate Barrett Sellers agrees: "It would
be hard to find a better candidate for an award like this.
I'd like to think that many members of our class are accomplishing
things in the real world (Collegiate certainly prepared us
well) but you cannot say enough about what Lawrence has been
doing. It's really hard to fathom. He's come a long way from
the days when he was egging cars and trying so hard to get
a date to prom."
Naval Academy
While at the Naval Academy, Lawrence was
a lead member of its sailing team all 4 years of schooling,
although he had never been in a regatta in his life.
A sailing coach at the Academy said Lawrence
was the first person from Kentucky in the history of the academy
to sail. He and his team won the Bermuda race and countless
other awards. He was known at the Academy for his athletic
agility, tenacious spirit and a academic achievement.
"I didn't know that this was the place for
me until I saw it for myself," he said. "Rather than choosing
a regular university, I chose the Naval Academy because I
wanted an opportunity to excel and challenge myself."
After the Academy, Lawrence went onto serve
his first mission as the Surface Warfare Officer on the USS
Higgins, a destroyer. During this mission, he was in charge
of everything below water. He was deployed to the Persian
Gulf for six months where he was in charge of a unit of 13
men whose mission was to protect the oil out of Iraq.
His most recent mission was aboard the USS
Bella Wood, a marine and aircraft carrier ship, where he was
the auxiliary officer and engineer. Lawrence was in charge
of 75 marines during this mission, the largest number anyone
was in charge of on the ship.
In addition to naval missions, Lawrence is
a member on the Honor Board and joined a round table discussion
with Colin Powell. Currently, Lawrence is waiting for his
orders for his next mission and he is deciding whether to
attend medical school with the navy or another educational
institution.
When Lawrence graduated Collegiate, his mom
and dad, Larry Williams, wrote in the Transcript: "Lawrence,
words cannot describe how proud we are to be your parents.
You have brought great joy and love to our lives during the
past 18 years. Your sincerity, compassion and loyalty to others
around you have earned your everlasting respect. Your talents
have made us wonder, 'Where did all this come from?' Your
focus and motivation have impacted and driven our own lives.
You have already accomplished so much and we are confident
that you have all the tools to meet future challenges. We
love you and will always be here for you. BEAT ARMY!"
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