Swinging his racquet of steel cross court, you may spot senior Anthony Williams on the tennis courts mentally consuming his final days pending highschool graduation in June. Williams holds a strong passion for tennis, as one of the highlights of his highschool career is competing in tennis singles tournaments during his three years of competition. Williams senior season of tennis brought victory when he placed first in a singles tournament for the first time in his career. Williams had previously competed in a double tournament with Dawson Blaney, during his junior season. Regardless of the score outcome, Williams takes pride and joy in swinging his racquet on the tennis court working his way from beginner to advanced athlete, with time and practice. His passion is seen by people beyond himself- his mother purchased his first “real” tennis racquet after noticing how much her son enjoyed the sport. Williams denied the sport when he was about 11 years old, but a spark ignited in him when he explored and experienced the sport his sophomore year , originally, to utilize the school’s two-sport PE waiver. An experiment grew into a passion over the years, “They got me hooked on it, and I’m seriously addicted to tennis,” Williams said. Williams hopes to continue his passion in college by starting on a club tennis team and making his way onto the college team.
Williams will be attending UC Irvine in the fall of 2025 studying mechanical engineering and physics. Upon graduation from UC Irvine, Williams hopes to be hired into an engineering firm to continue his passion of mechanical engineering. He is currently enrolled in the Engineering development and Design course taught by Alisa Bredensteiner. Williams’ passion for engineering began in his grandfather’s backyard. Williams recalls when he and his grandfather would use any tools and material they found to “make random stuff” and he began to enjoy these backyard building sessions with his grandfather. “This got me working with my hands, and then I actually wanted to build stuff and create a little extra,” said Williams.
Another highlight of William’s high school career was when he represented his engineering class at a space conference with Physics teacher Evan Johnston during his senior year. He had the opportunity to speak to professionals ranging from Cal Poly professors to business representatives.
Williams reported that his biggest struggle was meeting deadlines for his engineering class. “That’s the hardest thing you got to really lock it down the last two weeks before a deadline, so you can actually get stuff built,” Williams said. He also mentioned the struggle to persevere through constant losses and wins by continuously “putting your best work out on the line,” said Williams.
Williams can be distinguished amongst a crowd by his happy spirit where he is always smiling and kind, and trying his best to make the world a better place. Williams describes himself as “joyful” and “full of happiness.” Williams stands out most as a PRHS senior personifies leadership and what it means to be a proud PRHS Bearcat. Both his companion, Kyle Dart, and mentor Daniel Diaz, describes Williams as highly intelligent. Williams can also be seen representing leadership. “He leads by example. On the tennis team he was always doing what was right, showing the younger students how to act and what hard work looks like,” Diaz said.
All in all, Anthony Williams is a well rounded individual involved in tennis, engineering, and utilizing all that PRHS has to offer.
