Midshipman Nilah Willamson is pictured in uniform standing proudly flanked by the Youth Leadership Committee (YLC) 2022-2023 selected by a vote of their peer Youth LINKS Leaders. Many of the young women in the photo served alongside Miss Nilah two years prior when she was selected by her peers to become the first president of the YLC in the 2020-2021 term.

Nilah Willamson was the only graduating senior in the Leadership LINKS Mentoring Program for Girls in June 2021 when she graduated on June 18, 2021 from Yorktown High School in Virginia. Miss Nilah and the Williamson family have been long-time members of the Leadershp LINKS Network and she holds the status of the Youth LINKS Leader with the longest involvemnet with Leadership LINKS Inc. In 2015, she completed the first Leadership Summer Program for Girls in 2015 as a member of the Leadership LINKS “Inaugural Twenty”, the collective name of the twenty graduates of that pilot program held on the campus of SHABACH! Christian Academy. During that summer program, Miss Nilah discovered the leader she wanted to be and the career that she wished to pursue the moment that a Leadership LINKS Founding Director, Arthur J. Johnson, Jr. US Navy Retired Admiral, introduced her to a flight simulator. He is a veteran U.S. Navy aviator, licensed civilian pilot and the CEO of Destiny Aviation Service, LLC.

As a result of that life-changing experience, Miss Nilah set her sight on a career in military aviation. Miss Nilah desires to follow in her father’s footsteps to become a United States Marine Corps Officer. Her father, Ahmed Williamson, is a 1994 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and currently serves as an active duty Brig. Gen. Miss Nilah was inducted with the plebe class of USNA midshipmen in summer 2021. Now, in her sophomore year at the U.S. Naval Academy, she is excelling academically and performing well in several extra curricular activities.

Prior to her enrollment to the U.S. Naval Academy, Miss Nilah achieved another career highlight. Since that simulator experience, she always dreamed of flying her own plane. She obtained her private pilot’s license in the fall of 2021. Her accomplishment was featured with several news media stations to include Virginia Department of Aviation, Arlington Now Magazine, and Good Morning America.

Miss Nilah says that she “credits the leader that she is today to Leadership LINKS, Inc.” and her parents believe the exposure that the programs provided for their daugther helped her to focus on her goals and achieve them. (See video testimonial on the Leadership LINKS YouTube Channel.)

The Williamson family believe in the mission of Leadership LINKS, Inc. and support the vision of Mentoring Across Generations. Mattrice Williamson has also served as a mentor with the organization’s middle and high school students. Miss Nilah’s long-standing involvement with the organization inspired the Mentoring Program for Young Women (ages 18-30) that began in the fall of 2021 funded by partnership with the Forum for Theological Exploration. In order for graduating high school students to remain connected to the Leadership LINKS Network, they now have the opportunity to obtain career mentors to help them navigate the transition from high school to career. In addition to career mentors, the young women have peer mentors.

Miss Nilah continues to serve as a peer mentor to the Youth LINKS Leaders who are still enrolled in the middle and high school programs. She supports their leadership journeys by offering advice and encouragement for the YLC. She remains a great inspiration for the youth and continues to refer to all of the program participants as her “sister LINKS Leaders” and celebrates their growth and development.

In 2012, visionary founder and chairperson, Natasha Sistrunk Robinson, shared the vision of Leadership LINKS, Inc. with people who she believed shared her desire to grow a collaborative, educational, and encouraging community of like-minded individuals. She wanted to connect others who had the same passions and desires. She reached out to like-minded individuals from her life’s journey—each of them are passionate about sharing their gifts, knowledge and expertise. She began with two friends, QuaWanna Bannarbie and Nicole Hayes. They began sharing ideas regarding our spiritual voyages and how God had laid upon their hearts to encourage others. Acknowledging their expertise in the fields of community service and education, respectively, she requested their feedback, and invited them to join her in forming an organization where they could collectively share with others.

PICTURED: QuaWanna Bannarbie (left), Dr. Tracey Nicole Hayes (middle) and Natasha Sistrunk Robinson (right).

These three leaders at the helm of the organization have more in common than just being great friends. They are graduates of the United States Naval Academy. Dr. Tracey Nicole Hayes is a graduate of the Class of 1992. Mrs. QuaWanna Ne’Cole Bannarbie is a graduate of the Class of 1999. Mrs. Natasha Sistrunk Robinson is a graduate of the Class of 2002.

After her two friends said yes to the vision, Natasha later contacted Arthur Johnson (1979), Davede Alexander (2001), and Tasya Lacy (1997), all of whom would become the founding board members of Leadership LINKS, Inc.

Robinson and Hayes, who are both published authors and editors, recently submitted an article on the topic of this unique sisterhood with LINKS Leader sisters. It was published with the blog of the United States Naval Academy Shared Interest Group.

Read the article here.