Emily Williams

Hi everyone, my name is Emily. I'm a follower of Christ. My major is music education for voice, although I don't know what on earth I'll do with that. I'm starting my senior year at New Mexico State University, and the most exciting part of it is my involvement in Invisible Children. I had never heard of Invisible Children until my sophomore year in Las Cruces, and I still knew nothing about it when I met Valerie in the fall semester of my junior year. We had a couple of classes together, and we quickly became great friends. It came time for NMSU's fall screening. I remember hanging out with Val and the rest of the club, waiting for the roadies to arrive. I didn't really know anyone, and I felt really out of place, but I also felt a connection with these people that I'd never known with anyone else. So when Val told me to go to the screening, I agreed to go. While I felt impacted by what I saw, I didn't really know what to do or how to process it. I have spent the majority of my life refusing to watch the news and refusing to accept that there is so much unnecessary killing in the world. I hate to have to deal with hearing about atrocities while feeling like there is nothing I can do. Then Val applied to be a roadie and ended up interning with IC for 7 months. Luckily for me, I became friends with the rest of the IC club here just before she was gone. I love all of them, so naturally, I ended up helping more with IC. I think the moment I really understood that Invisible Children was a way for me to acknowledge and combat some of the wrongs in the world was when we went to talk with Senator Udall's office about getting funds appropriated to the LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act (https://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2241/images/S1067%20Final.pdf). I was excited for weeks after, and I knew I was going to be more involved. Then 25 came. I read a lot of the history of the war through Human Rights Watch (www.hrw.org) and that moved me substantially. Working on the 25 event and remaining silent proved to be an exciting challenge that got attention. I realized that I can spread the word, raise funds, and do something instead of just ignoring the problem. Now, with two of my best friends going on the road with the Frontline Tour, I want to take more responsibility. So that's been my journey with IC and how I've come to be part of Team Las Cruces.

You can be part of this too! http://www.stayclassy.org/fundraise/ic-team?ftid=821