UOPX alumni spotlight: Amber Williams

College was always in the cards for Amber Williams (AABFN, 2020; BSM, 2023). “My degree was something that my mom always wanted me to do,” she says, noting how her mother believed school was the ticket for upward mobility.

Initially, Williams embraced the vision. She enrolled in a community college after high school and eventually transferred to a small liberal arts college in Los Angeles. Then Williams decided to take a break. “It wasn’t a good fit,” she says. “I didn’t like being away from home. … Then I had my son and was like, ‘OK, now I’m never going to go back to school because now I’m a mom, and I have to work full time and raise my son.’”

That wasn’t, however, the end of Williams’ story. Her mom had planted a seed that the years of working and parenting would water. Here’s how Williams made her mom’s dream her own and became a first-generation college graduate.

While Williams had been working various jobs (as opposed to following a career path), her mother had been gaining years of experience at Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (PG&E). In 2008, a position in her department opened up, and she encouraged Williams to apply.

Williams did and was hired as a contractor in the mail room, where she processed applications for a low-income program. One year later, when a permanent position became available, Williams applied and again got the job. But as she settled into full-time employment, she grew restless. 

She took on more responsibilities and grew in the organization. Meanwhile, her mother kept watering what she had planted. Williams remembers her saying, “You know, we do tuition reimbursement here.”

Around 2017, Williams heeded her mother’s wisdom. She met with her supervisor who, was enrolled at University of Phoenix herself at that time. “She was the perfect person to talk to,” says Williams. “She was able to show me the steps.”

At first, Williams was thrilled. The tuition reimbursement made school feel doable. Once she got started, however, doubt began to creep in. With everything else in her life — she had gotten married, and she and her husband were raising a blended family — she wondered if she could do it.

“We are the ‘yes’ people,” she says. “So, we were always in and very involved on all the boards of [the kids’] baseball and softball and wrestling leagues.”

To accommodate those obligations, Williams took a step back, and before she knew it, one step forward, two steps back became the routine. “I did that several times,” she says. “Getting into it and then kind of falling back because life takes over between work and having kids and a family.” 

At work, Williams was applying her trademark energy to conversations with her managers about her goals. She recalls a particularly powerful one with a leader who asked, “What do you want to do? Where do you see yourself in five to 10 years?”

Williams matter-of-factly replied, “I want your job. I want to be a leader.”

Luckily, Williams’ ambition was met with support. “OK, let’s get you there,” she says her leader replied.

She didn’t get there overnight. “Little by little, I was getting opportunities because I was very vocal about where I wanted to go,” Williams says.

One of the primary ways she advanced was by taking advantage of the rotational opportunities offered at PG&E. “Every time I did that, I ended up staying in the role permanently.”

Eventually, that leader who’d asked Williams to clarify her goals retired — and Wiliams stepped into her role. “I still talk to her now and joke, ‘I got your job.’”

Other experiences required more contemplation and less action. One of these came in 2018 when Williams’ mother passed away. Williams describes it as a light-bulb moment regarding the education she’d started but never quite completed. She realized that finishing her education was now her own goal rather than her mother’s.

Galvanized, Williams still needed her external circumstances to change in order to stay in school. Then, 2020 arrived with the homebound consequences of the pandemic.

“In 2020, more of us were working from home. COVID was happening. Sports were canceled for the kids, and I had more free time,” Williams says.

Now fully committed to finishing, Williams remained cautious. Her approach to her degree was similar to her approach to her career: She took baby steps toward a bigger goal. So, instead of tackling a bachelor’s degree, she focused on completing her associate degree.

Williams submitted a Prior Learning Assessment, and found out that much of her work experience could qualify for college credit. This allowed her to quickly complete her associate degree in business.

“Once I was done with my associate [degree], it was like, ‘You know what? It’s only a few more classes to finish your bachelor’s degree, so why not?’” Williams recalls.

Things had also simplified at home. Her kids were older and more independent, and when her son reached his senior year of high school, she felt a fresh surge of motivation. She wanted to have her bachelor’s degree by the time he graduated so she could set a good example, she says. 

Williams says she is committed to her MBA program, but she also isn’t in a hurry. She’s stepped away for now as she learns a new rotation at work and focuses on being more available for friends and family during evenings and weekends. She made those sacrifices during her associate and bachelor’s degree programs, but at this stage in life, she’s searching for better balance.

“I can’t tell you how many times my girlfriends were like, ‘Let’s go do this, let’s go do that,’ and I’m like, ‘Sorry, I’m writing a paper,’” Williams recalls. “It was always the joke between my friends and me: ‘Can we go to brunch on Sunday, or do you have a paper?’”

Despite the sacrifices, Wiliams sees the value in her accomplishments. She has set the example for her children that she feels will stand them in good stead throughout their lives.

“I wanted to show my kids that it doesn’t matter how long it takes you to do something,” Williams explains. “It doesn’t matter that it took you 10 years or whatever to get there, as long as you eventually got to where you wanted to be.”

Now, Williams directs her energy toward her team. “I have several people under me who want to be in leadership someday,” she says. “I had somebody who helped me get there and I want to pay it forward. Everybody needs that mentor. They need somebody who believes in them.”

Part of this commitment means encouraging her team to go back to school. Williams intentionally shares her journey with others and doesn’t hold back on the struggle that was involved.

“A lot of my team members heard me talk about it for so long, and they’re like, ‘If you can do it with two younger kids and work full time and do all the extracurricular activities, I can do it too,’” Williams says.

Stephanie Jones, who currently reports to Williams, couldn’t agree more.

“Amber has encouraged me to reenroll in school,” shares Jones, who is studying for her bachelor’s in business at UOPX. “She constantly gives me feedback when I am doubting myself and reminds me how capable I am.”

Like Williams’ mother, Jones has great expectations for her manager and friend. Not only is she counting on her to finish her master’s program, but she foresees additional opportunities at work. “I have seen [Williams] work her way up,” Jones says. “Even when she was put in difficult positions, she continued to push forward with a positive mindset.”

As Williams’ story proves, having someone believe in you — your mother, your friend, yourself — can make all the difference for your future.

Find out if your employer is one of the more than 1,500 organizations University of Phoenix works with to offer education benefits.

Meet Phoenixes like Amber. Make connections, build relationships and be part of a growing community. Join a chapter!