RV senior is educating community on how to give back to veterans
WARSAW − Senior projects at River View High School are just a natural extension for Aliah Williamson in wanting to give back to the community that has given so much to her, and especially military veterans who have given so much to everyone.
She started Heroes of Today last year as a junior with inspiration from Miss Ohio Madison Miller of Coshocton. Aliah was named Miss North Coast Teen in 2022 and was in the Miss Teen Ohio pageant this past year, finishing as the second runner-up. She hopes to compete in Miss Ohio this year and has a preliminary pageant on March 9.
Miller talked with Aliah about having a community service initiative and veterans has always been in her heart, just like with Miller. Aliah has had several family members serve in the military and she's always been fascinated with their stories. Her organization is becoming a 501c3 nonprofit.
"It was something I was super passionate about. My grandfather and uncle had a real driving force in my decision," she said on creating Heroes of Today. "This isn't just a senior project for me. It's a lifelong thing I've created. It's a lifelong passion now installed I never really would have known about if I didn't have this opportunity."
Heroes of Today is focused on giving the community opportunities and ideas on how to give back to military veterans past, present and future while promoting youth involvement education. This includes her making presentations on the elementary, junior high and high school levels. Aliah has done everything from speaking at assemblies to reading to elementary students to creating and hanging posters at her high school.
She's served as a chaperone for the Honor Flight program, where military veterans take tours of Washington D.C., which she hopes to do again this spring. She also gave out a $1,000 scholarship last year for a senior entering the military and a $500 scholarship to a student who wrote an essay on what veterans mean to them. She hopes to give out more money this year and is working on fundraisers, including T-shirt sales.
"A lot of the time we have misunderstandings on what our veterans have gone through or the support they really need in actuality when they come back to the community after serving their time in the military. It's really just about spreading that awareness, spreading those volunteer opportunities we have available," Aliah said.
When Aliah goes into an elementary school she'll open by asking what is a veteran. Often kids will say it's someone who takes care of animals. She'll correct them with a laugh that's a veterinarian.
"I get to see a progression through the time that I'm there that they really get to formulate a connection with the word veteran and what it truly means," Aliah said. "That response in general proves to me I'm in the exact right place at the exact right time and doing exactly what I need to be doing; teaching them what a veteran is so they know how to thank them for their service."
Seniors at River View engage in projects that have them working with community mentors and can be related to just about any hobby or career field, according to Cindy Hemming, senior project adviser. The idea is to increase their self-awareness, self-management, relationship skills, responsibility and decision-making skills while improving themselves, school or community.
Miller served as a mentor for Aliah last year as she got started and her mentor this year is Sharon Burns of Blue Star Mothers.
"My main driving force was to be connected to my fellow students and have them be involved in the things I'm passionate about. That can be hard if you don't have access to bring it into your school. Senior projects really allows that," Aliah said. "I've gotten to do these huge opportunities that wouldn't have been accessible to me if I didn't do a senior project."
Aliah takes College Credit Plus classes through Zane State University, was the Coshocton County Fair Queen last fall, is a competitive dancer through Miss Jennifer's Dance Studio, is involved with Ohio Model United Nations and is a member of National Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society, played the River View mascot and is part of several other clubs at her school.
After high school, Aliah wants to attend Ohio State University with plans to become an optometrist. She wants to practice in Coshocton, another way of giving back to the community.
"The biggest thing in my life is serving the community that served me," Aliah said. "That's a big driving force in who I am as Aliah. So, of course, as a career I want to come back and serve those who have served me. I want to serve my community and that's a way I can do that through their health care needs."
Leonard Hayhurst is a community content coordinator and general news reporter for the Coshocton Tribune with more than 15 years of local journalism experience and multiple awards from the Ohio Associated Press. He can be reached at 740-295-3417 or llhayhur@coshoctontribune.com. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @llhayhurst.
This article originally appeared on Coshocton Tribune: Family inspired student to create Heroes of Today, help local veterans
