4 Questions with Sheryl Duffus Williams
Network Engineer in Verizon Communication
Sheryl Duffus Williams (she/her) is a Network Engineer in Verizon Communication, New York, on the Voice & Video Engineering Core Network Engineering team. She obtained an MBA from Long Island University and Master’s of Science in Information Systems from Stevens Institute of Technology.
Sheryl believes there is a place for all women in science and technology. She is an avid champion for continuous self-improvement and the power of education, which she believes is the catalyst for changing circumstances no matter how humble your beginnings might be.
1. Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
I am an immigrant from Kingston, Jamaica, who came to this country at the age of 14 with the hope of having a bright and successful future here. After completing high school, I was fortunate to obtain an internship at the Inroads Inc. and was matched with Verizon, formerly Nynex, as my sponsoring organization. It was the opportunity of a lifetime for me and my family!
I was able to do my internship for four summers and worked part-time with Verizon while I obtained my undergraduate degree in Computer Science at Iona College. Thereafter I started working as a full-time employee in 2000.
2. How did you get into STEM?
It started out with a fascination for computers and how they seemed to make work easier with the click of a button. Even though I could not afford a personal computer at the time, I would spend hours in my college computer labs developing my skillsets.
Over the years, I realized the importance of STEM and how it drives growth and innovation. As a mother of two daughters, aged 11 and 6, I try to reinforce the value of STEM in our education curriculum. STEM develops their critical thinking and pushes them beyond what they think is possible.
3. What’s a challenge you’ve faced, and how did you get through it?
A personal challenge I’ve faced is overcoming the feeling of not being good enough. Emigrating from Jamaica as a teenager, I have always felt the pressure to assimilate. I overcame it by immersing myself in my educational pursuits, and in doing so, built up the self-esteem to know I could achieve anything I wanted to, no matter where I was living. In May of 2018, I graduated with a 3.973 GPA from Stevens Institute of Technology, a great personal achievement considering where I started from.
4. What’s something you’ve done that you are immensely proud of?
Completing Verizon’s Women of the World (WOW), a Professional Leadership Development Program for developing key skills such as effective communication, self-leadership, critical thinking, career ownership, and personal brand development. It provided me the opportunity to network with women professionals across our Global Network and Technology Organization, and I am so proud to be part of a company that supports women who are trying to be the best version of themselves.
The WOW program was also a great opportunity for me to take my leadership skills to the next level and exceed my business as usual contributions. I want to be part of the movement to bring new ideas to the table that will propel Verizon to the next level.
