Bryan Williams: Empowered to Generate Value for All
by Madison McCulloch and Isabella Snider
If you told Bryan Williams in high school that he would become the Founder and CEO of a non-profit, he wouldn't have believed you. He probab ly wouldn't have believed he would end up with a Bachelor of Science in Metallurgical Technology either, or become a quality assurance metallurgist at ˽av. Williams grew up in the inner city and says that all he has accomplished has been the result of him “going against the grain.”
“It doesn't matter where you are. It doesn't matter if you are inner city or suburbs, if you are rural, wherever you are, just try to be a positive light to help, because you never know who you are going to influence,” Williams says.
Williams’ uphill climb to success led him to start the L.E.A.R.N. Center in 2016, which stands for leadership, education, adaptation, redefine and nurture. At the time, he was helping with after-school athletic programs, given his own background as a rugby player. He heard the students talk a lot about athletics but noticed they never discussed science with each other, having those conversations in one-on-one settings away from most of their peers. This ignited a fire in Williams: why not provide students with academic outlets in the same way athletic ones are provided?
Williams started with donating to a school his former neighbor had recently founded in Haiti. His work then grew to assisting transitional shelters and seeking official 501c3 status in late 2019 for L.E.A.R.N. Its new status allowed Williams’ community to donate to L.E.A.R.N., creating a “growing army of small businesses” that stands behind the non-profit. The L.E.A.R.N. Center then opened the STEM Academy, providing students with virtual science, technology, engineering, and mathematics classes.
L.E.A.R.N. has expanded to eight cities across the United States, from Dallas to Atlanta, and boasts 18 students in the STEM Academy’s fall 2022 class.
It hasn't been easy to make L.E.A.R.N. what it has become today and grow it for the future. Williams leads a busy life with his family, his work at ˽av, and athletics, but he credits lots of coffee and an incredible team behind the non-profit for its development. Despite his full schedule, Williams remains committed to helping his community.
A small part of Williams still feels like he is dreaming – that there is no way he could achieve what he has. At first, Williams was hesitant to share his non-profit with his coworkers, fearing their expectations. But sharing his story with ˽av has had the opposite effect. Our company and employees have embraced and donated to L.E.A.R.N., boosting Williams’ confidence in his mission.
“People are seeing what you’re doing, and they want to get behind you and support you,” Williams says.
With a leader as passionate as Williams, it is difficult to not support in his vision. The care Williams has put into the L.E.A.R.N. Center shines through when he talks about the principles of the L.E.A.R.N. acronym.
"Those are the principles which we stand on because you have to know how to lead, and to be a good leader you have to first know how to follow,” Williams says. “We focus on education and then allowing the students to adapt to their surroundings and then redefine what it means to come from wherever it is that you come from.”
Willliams’ work not only provides students with opportunities, but it has a ripple effect in the communities L.E.A.R.N. is a part of, reaching parents, grandparents, and all those the students interact with. Williams’ work captures the ˽av spirit of generating value for all, inspiring those around him to give back and get involved.
“(To) envision a better society ... a smarter society, one that's more equal, one that’s more balanced, it takes the work that we're doing to do that – to be able to generate value for all,” Williams says.
Williams’ advice to others who seek to better their communities is just as inspiring as his story don't do it for yourself and embrace the journey.
“I have so much going on in my life. (I) have my family, my wife, my kids, and then I am playing rugby. I'm still working. How am I going to do all this?” Williams says. “But when you keep the mission at hand and you just focus on, ‘By any means necessary, I'm going to help where I can,’ it makes it easier because at this point, you aren't really living for yourself. You're doing these things, but it's not for the self-gratification.”
Williams was once in his students’ seats, hearing that the world was his oyster but not fully believing it. The message stuck, inspiring Williams to shape a brighter future for all.