RCC毕业生克里斯蒂安·威廉姆斯不顾一切困难，克服逆境

几年前，当克里斯蒂安·威廉姆斯(Christian Williams)启程前往罗布森社区学院(Robeson Community College)时, he wasn’t sure what to expect. But through his struggles and perseverance, 他鼓舞了许多人，也成为其他自闭症患者的榜样.

“他在各个方面都体现了成功的定义，”RCC主席梅丽莎·辛格勒说. “He had every excuse to not attend college, 但这正是他这么做的原因——向所有人表明，无论如何，你都可以实现自己的梦想.”

During the 2023 graduation ceremony, 威廉姆斯在演讲中被毕业典礼的演讲者认出来了, myFutureNC CEO and President, 塞西莉亚霍尔顿.

“One of our graduates today is autistic, 但他并没有让这些决定他的人生，也没有让这些决定他的人生,霍尔顿说。. “He has persevered and worked hard to graduate today, and I’m excited to add that he’ll be graduating with a 3.9日平均绩点. Congratulations, Christian.”

对威廉姆斯, 在毕业典礼上听到这些话对他来说是一个重要的时刻，他永远不会忘记.

“I looked up and said, ‘I did it.’”

那天，威廉姆斯走上讲台，获得了信息技术副学士学位, 网络 and Simulation and Game Development, and three certificates including video gaming, information technology, and CISCO networking.

威廉姆斯说:“这表明我经历了很长一段路才走到今天。.

His mother, 琳达, agreed.

“Having that recognition at graduation, when they started talking about Christian, it made me so proud,” his mother said. “作为一名家长，我为他感到骄傲，这对他来说并不容易.”

Christian takes a photo with his Mom, 琳达, 在他身边, who has been instrumental in pushing him to new heights, 说, ‘Failure is not an option.”

威廉姆斯在4岁时就被诊断出患有自闭症. 这个诊断对大多数人来说可能是毁灭性的, but thankfully for Christian, his mother was strong-willed. 作为一名与特殊儿童打交道的小学老师, 她不打算放弃她的儿子，她也不允许他放弃. 

“Failure was never an option,” his mother stated. “于是，战斗开始了，我们开始为克里斯蒂安而战. We had to fight teachers, 其他家长, and it was just a continuous battle… he was a high flyer, but because of meltdowns, they didn’t want him in the classes with the other children. It was hurtful, but we got through it.”

Through all the pain, 希望之光和能保护他不受欺负的朋友来了, teachers who would stay after class to tutor, 以及帮助克里斯蒂安学习如何应对日常生活压力的治疗师——所有这些都帮助他成为了今天的他.

“Christian knows that if you quit, you will never be successful in life… so we pushed him, which sometimes made things uncomfortable at times, 但它教会了他，生活并不总是总是舒适的.”

正是这种态度和支持体系帮助威廉姆斯成为了一名大学毕业生, 这一重大成就显示了他的成就有多高，以及他如何克服了对他不利的因素.  

“I see my able, not my label,” Williams says. “You have to focus on what you are capable of doing, 想想你能做什么，不要让你的残疾阻碍你.”

出于对技术的热爱，威廉姆斯决定进入IT行业.

“I am fascinated with computers,” Williams said. “我最喜欢的一节课是我们和Mr. 雅可布.”

他还喜欢打字和数据录入工作，说他每分钟最多可以打77个单词.

Another passion for Williams is drawing.

“他是一个自学成才的艺术家，甚至开始了自己的生意——克里斯蒂安·威廉的定制艺术品,” his mother said.

这家公司为那些喜欢展示原创艺术品的人提供艺术服务. 他的作品集包括从汽车到房屋的各种绘画.

“他最近在一所小学做了演讲，”他的母亲说. 他给他们画了一份礼物，让他们送给其中一个学生.”

对威廉姆斯来说，拥有创造力是一种表现形式, it’s an outlet his mother says, and a source of joy. 这也是他如此喜欢在罗布森社区学院上视频和游戏课的原因之一.

“He was a great student, he was very creative,” stated Kenneth Stubbs, one of Williams’ favorite teachers. “I had him for the 3D modeling class. 他做了一个有灯光效果的房子，房子周围都是草.”

赋值, 斯塔布斯说, didn’t require that much detail, 但威廉姆斯并不想满足于要求, 他想要脱颖而出，把他的任务做到最好.

“他在课堂上和所有的作业中都表现得非常出色, I was always excited to see what he would come up with,斯塔布斯说。.

Williams says that Mr. Stubbs was “very entertaining, 他也非常乐于助人，每当我遇到我不知道的事情时, he would help me figure it out…. 有时他会和学生谈论他的爱好，这让我在课堂上感到很舒服.”

在RCC学习信息技术课程期间，威廉姆斯也有机会制作一款视频游戏.

“It’s basically a Mario game,” Williams said. “它有Luigi，就像娱乐系统一样……我玩得很开心.”

Outside of class, 威廉姆斯说，他喜欢和其他人一起坐在学生中心, playing video games. 他说，他们都会从家里带来游戏机，在等公交车送他回家的时候玩上几个小时.

“他在这里的经历很棒，他从来没有说过任何负面的话，”他的母亲说. “He wasn’t ready for a 4-year school. RCC有家的感觉，他可以在这里得到他需要的帮助……教官经常会留下来帮他跟上进度.”

“他们是很好的导师，他们总是说克里斯蒂安的好话，”他的母亲补充说.

Currently in the market for a job, William hopes to find a position that is suitable for him, and that with each day that passes, he will become more and more independent. In the short term, he hopes to get a driver’s license. 威廉姆斯说，从长远来看，他希望住在一所他可以称之为自己的新房子里.

他还对其他有兴趣接受教育的人提出了建议.

“如果你认为罗布森社区学院适合你，那就去吧，”威廉姆斯说. “It wouldn’t hurt to try.”

如果你有兴趣了解更多有关资讯科技的知识, 网络, 以及罗布森社区学院的模拟和游戏项目, 请致电910-272-3457或cwatson@robeson与Carolyn Watson联系.edu. Fall 2023 classes begin August 14.

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