By Moriah Schranz

Maury High School selected Donna Williams as the 2025-2026 Teacher of the Year. 

Williams grew up in the U.S. Virgin Islands and moved to Norfolk to attend Norfolk State University in 1989.

She expresses her love for the city.

“It’s just easy to live here. It’s easy to get from point A to point B, you can travel out of town with ease, you can travel by plane or car. There are more things to do with young children, more opportunities,” said Williams.

Williams also shares her passion for biology, saying, “It’s my favorite topic, my favorite everything.”

Williams sat down for a conversation about the rewards and struggles of teaching, her personal upbringing, and the adjustments she has had to make this year. The following has been edited for clarity:

MS: Congratulations on winning Teacher of the Year. How did you feel about getting this award?

DW:  I don’t usually like to be in the limelight. I feel like it’s just my job to help kids. People keep telling me I deserve it, but we all deserve it. I was trying to downplay the award, but my mom told me to stop blocking my blessings and that I have earned it. She kept reminding me of things that I do, but I just don’t want to see a kid fail. I accepted the award and it feels great, but I didn’t know it was such a big thing.

MS: How did you find out about 
Norfolk State?

DW: They recruit very heavily for the band in the Caribbean, so I had heard the name before it was time to pick colleges. When I was picking, I remembered the name, so I picked it. I got into a couple schools, but I picked Norfolk State. 
There was a whole world of people I knew here, even though I’m from a small place.

MS: What did you major in in college?

DW: Biology.

MS: So early on, you knew that’s what you wanted to do. Did you know that you wanted to teach?

DW:  No, I was a biology premed. 
I volunteered at the clinic, and I loved it, but then I realized I don’t like blood. 
So, I went to bio. I thought about doing nursing, but then I realized I don’t take orders very well, and there was more blood. So, I decided I wanted to teach.

MS: Was it difficult to adjust to Norfolk coming from the Caribbean?

DW: 
The only difference was the cold. It was weird to put on long pants and more weatherized clothing. 
Remember, I was at Norfolk State almost 30 years ago, and we didn’t have the internet or cell phones yet. People asked questions like, “Do y’all live in trees or huts in the Carribean?”
 People didn’t understand the Caribbean and the culture. They didn’t realize that we live in normal houses and we just don’t have central heat and air because there’s no need. We just have AC units in the wall. I was confused why people here thought that we lived like that. 
The U.S. Virgin Islands is a part of the U.S., so we have to have the same standards as the rest of the country.

MS: When you decided to be a teacher, was Maury the first school you started to work at?

DW: No, I worked at the school I graduated from in the Islands. 
I went home because my mom told me that my old principal needed a science teacher. They offered me a job, so I went home and spent two years there. 
I had already interviewed for Norfolk Public Schools, but there were no openings. Then they called saying they had an opening. So, I came back to Norfolk to visit and interview, they hired me, and I moved back. I was always planning on moving back, but they just didn’t have openings. They then gave me 3 different options, and I chose Maury. I have been here for 25 years.

MS: What specific classes do you teach here?

DW:  I’ve taught honors Biology, inclusion, and regular Biology. I’ve taught Environmental Science as well. 
Before here, I taught Botany too, but Biology is my thing. In Biology, you get to do the dissections and lots of hands-on labs.

MS: What’s an impactful moment that you’ve had teaching?

DW: There’s so many. I love to see the kids as adults, and they remember my name. Then I can look at their face and see their progression. Some students still reach out via Facebook, and we might have lunch together. Some of them have children; I have students that are 40. 
I love to see that I have made the impact that they remember me. I know I did my job, and I loved the kids, but I never knew that they looked up to me because I wanted them to do better and pushed them. 
They always say, “You never gave up on me.” Even if you fail, it’s not the end of the world, and they always feel like I cared about their grade. I feel defeated when a kid doesn’t want to learn. I always feel like, what could I do differently? Not all kids learn the same.

MS: What would you say is the biggest struggle you have teaching?

DW: 
Technology and the cell phone. I think the biggest struggle is getting students to refocus. 
I think this generation doesn’t know how to think openly without going to ChatGPT. They don’t have a voice because they only communicate by chat. They don’t know how to talk and communicate. 
That’s why I make them talk to me. Lots of students want to Google everything.

MS: I’m sure that that’s been a very big change throughout your career.

DW: Yes. When I first started, we didn’t have computers. I’m still more paper to pen, but I do incorporate technology to give a better visual aid. It helps students. Just everything is different. But, we’re in evolution and adaptation right now, so they are learning how to adapt to their environment. 


MS: Since you teach a lot of freshmen and underclassmen, do you see the lack of maturity? Is there a way you try to bridge the gap into high school?

DW: I feel a lot of playfulness; however, you set the pace of your classroom. For example, when you come into my classroom, you have to immediately start working. I cut that downtime, and it builds structure where the students are respectful. The focus is always respect. Also the use of repetition. I tell the students that they need to find their niche. There’s something for everyone at Maury. All you have to do is just show them that one person cares. If we have one person that cares for a student in this building, they will all feel like they should come to school every day. 
 Everybody just wants to belong. 
That’s it.