Alexia Williams is Salutatorian of the Spelman College Class of 2012

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Alexia Williams, Salutatorian, Spelman College Class of 2012

ATLANTA, GA (05/22/2012)(readMedia)-- Alexia Williams is the salutatorian for the Spelman College class of 2012. Williams was among the 550 students who received their diplomas on May 20 during Spelman's 125th commencement, which featured Oprah Winfrey delivering the address.

A graduate of Sacred Heart Academy in Louisville, Ky., Williams' Spelman journey has been a rewarding and enriching experience. In addition to studying abroad in Lima, Peru, and Malaga, Spain, Williams studied Afro-Peruvian folklore and slave identities as a UNCF Mellon Mays Undergraduate Research Fellow, and conducted research at Princeton University in Afro-Peruvian poetry and performances as forms of peaceful protest.

Making her mark with a 3.97 GPA, Williams, an English and Spanish double major, also served as co-chair of the Model U.N. Team, competed at the Harvard World Model United Nations Conference in Taipei, Taiwan, and was a student ambassador and class vice president during her freshman year. She is a member of several honorary organizations including Phi Beta Kappa.

Williams credits her academic achievement to supportive faculty and peers at Spelman. "With encouragement from faculty and pushed forward by the accomplishments of my fellow students, and those who came before me at Spelman, I wanted to do my best and make them proud," she said.

Williams plans to tutor inner-city seventh- and eighth-grade boys in English and Spanish at the West End Boys School, a boarding school in Louisville. She also intends to pursue a doctorate degree in comparative literature, with sights on becoming a college professor.

About Spelman College

Founded in 1881, Spelman College is a highly selective, liberal arts college widely recognized as the global leader in the education of women of African descent. Located in Atlanta, Ga., the college's picturesque campus is home to 2,100 students. Outstanding alumnae include Children's Defense Fund founder Marian Wright Edelman; Sam's Club CEO Rosalind Brewer; JPMorgan Chase Foundation President Kimberly Davis; former acting Surgeon General and Spelman's first alumna President Audrey Forbes Manley; Harvard College Dean Evelyn Hammonds; author Pearl Cleage; and actress LaTanya Richardson Jackson. For more information, visit www.spelman.edu.