LB Sam Williams speaks to the students of St. Catherine of Siena School.
Recently, Oakland Raiders LB Sam Williams visited the students of St. Catherine of Siena School in Martinez, Calif., to speak about the importance of working hard both on and off the field. Students came dressed in silver and black and were excited to meet the eighth-year Raider.
Williams spoke to the kindergarten through eighth grade students about achieving goals, visualizing success and maintaining a positive attitude. "I hope that they use the visualization process as a positive," said Williams. "If they think positively, good things will happen. If they think that negative things will happen to them, then those negative things will happen. I just gave them a little secret about the way I visualize our success before I go play in a game and how they can translate that into life."
Teachers and St. Catherine's Principal Andrew Von Haunalter were thrilled to have a Raider share advice with their students. "The best part about today was Sam's talk about setting goals and referencing his faith which was nice and just to see how excited the kids were to see him," said Von Haunalter.
Students showed their appreciation and selflessness by each bringing in $2 to put towards William's foundation Tackling the Odds (TTO). Williams created his foundation with aspirations to enrich the lives of disadvantaged youth. St. Catherine's students were able to donate nearly $250.
"The kids were so bright and asked so many wonderful questions and the fact that the kids all brought money to donate to the foundation was [great]," said Williams. "It shows a lot about the teachers and what that school is doing."
Williams attended the event with the intent of making a positive impact on the students' lives. Instead, the children made an impact on him with their generosity and intelligence.
