Meet Kiona Williams, the 2023 Wolfson Scholar Nominee from the College of Health and Human Development. She was also named an HHD Dean’s College Scholar for 2023. She graduated on May 21 with her Bachelor of Science in Public Health from the Department of Health Sciences and a GPA of 3.94. She achieved this while also holding an off-campus internship and working in the CSUN Department of Health Sciences with faculty and helping to support other students working on their degrees.
Kiona has two areas of specialization: Maternal and infant health among the African American Community, and addressing homelessness. During her undergraduate degree program, she researched maternal and infant health, and most recently, she has performed at an internship as a Case Manager with GLO Preemies, a nonprofit organization that helps to raise the voices of Black families in the NICU and post-NICU.
During the internship, Kiona began to develop a peri-natal workshop that specifically focuses on breastfeeding, which she anticipates launching this year. She also enrolled families in a program for mothers who have high-risk pregnancies. Along with providing resources such as breast pumps, workshops, and care packages, she also came to discover that some of the mothers she worked with were experiencing homelessness.
And this is where her second interest came in: For a time, when she was a child, Kiona and her mother experienced homelessness. Though they did not live on the streets, thanks to the support they got from family members, the gratitude she felt because of their kindness instilled in her a desire to one day help others in similar situations.
And so today she refers to herself as a scholar-activist who creates bridges between higher education and communities with social injustice issues. She told us she is harnessing the knowledge that she received from her academic coursework and is applying it to the real world. Having seized the opportunity to obtain a degree that is grounded in proactive community work, Kiona says she feels confident knowing that she is making an impact by providing important assets to marginalized communities.
Kiona is a member of the National Society of Leadership and Success which helped her build leadership skills, and she said that through her experience as a CSUN student; NSLS member; and GLO Preemies intern, she has learned to be resilient; patient; compassionate; committed; and dedicated. She looks forward to continuing to reinforce her knowledge and skills and remain a pillar for social change and justice.
Su 2023
Jean O'Sulilvan/HHD NewsNow