FAVORITE MEMORIES OF WILLIAMS

Skipping French class after a huge snowstorm to ski in fresh powder for the first time; cheerleading; creating the Purple Cow costume and manning it with Jim Rooney (football) and Johnny King (hockey).
Favorite professors? George Pistorius was classic. I drove Professor Savacool nuts. I really loved the French curriculum.

WILLIAMS CLUBS / ACTIVITIES

Purple Key, photography, freshman hockey, rugby, WMS-WCFM, Outing Club

CURRENT INTERESTS, PASSIONS, AND ORGANIZATIONS

I’m still drawing and painting, and have picked up the guitar again. Reading is a guilty pleasure.

I continue to be passionate about serving children and their educational goals (Avenue Scholars, Boys and Girls Club of the Midlands, The Rose children’s theater); I’m also one of the founders of Magdalene Omaha, which is a non-profit that serves survivors of sex trafficking. This is a true passion. I have also served on a number of boards in Omaha, including Merrymakers (live professional music for seniors), the United Way, Food Bank of the Midlands, and Trinity Cathedral.

LIFE SINCE GRADUATION

I recall vividly Dean Hyde’s talk to the incoming freshman class in 1968. He described his wishes for us, and I remember being borderline offended that one wish for us was that we fail a class. Us? Fail a class? How dare he! This is a room of overachievers, leaders, athletes, and scholars who are the cream of the crop, I thought. After all, we were all hardwired to be successful.

I didn’t really get it until 1984, when I returned home from Australia, recently separated from my wife after 10 years of marriage. I had resigned my position with the Melbourne Sun and lost my job with the New York Post. This is what Dean Hyde was talking about. Failure is a gut check, and it is how we deal with loss and failure that is the greatest test of a person’s character and their ability to rebound.

My rebound was based on remarrying extremely well. Mary is an outstanding human being, an amazing wife, friend, and mother to our daughter.

We have a great foundation, and it allowed me to be resilient.

The rest of my story is simple. I draw, I paint, I cartoon, I tell stories, try to make people laugh, use my gifts for solid causes and be a good person for others.