Heather Callahan-Williams is a survivor of childhood cancer who could have put all of that past pain into the rear-view mirror when she headed off to the University of North Georgia four years ago.
Instead, the Smyrna native will graduate in December after having led her campus in raising more than $100,000 for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, the hospital she credits with saving her life.
“I knew I wanted to do something when I went to college to help Children’s,” Callahan-Williams said.
On her very first day on the Dahlonega campus, she started an organization to support CHOA families and raise money for the hospital through the Children’s Miracle Network (CMN).
It was a small group at first; just her, her roommate and a few other friends. They called themselves Hope at UNG, a name that held much meaning for Callahan-Williams.
“When you’re in the hospital or when you’re sick, it’s really easy to lose hope. If you have a really bad diagnosis, it’s really easy to focus on the negative. So I think if you can at least have hope and you can focus on that, then that’s what keeps you going. That’s what kept me going,” she said.
As a group, Hope students went to the Children’s hospital in Sandy Springs once a month to visit kids. They sponsored fundraisers, and spent hours hanging flyers and talking to their friends about getting involved.
Still small, but growing, the student group raised $12,000 in the first two years and participated in the University of Georgia’s CMN Dance Marathon event.
Dance Marathon is a nationwide movement among colleges and high schools where students raise funds for their local CMN hospital year-round, then come together for a big event of dancing, games, entertainment and inspirational stories from families.
In year three of the Hope organization, UNG students were encouraged to start their own Dance Marathon. Avery Fiveash, program coordinator for the CHOA Foundation, worked with Callahan-Williams to lay the foundation.
“Starting a new organization is incredibly challenging, but Heather did not let anything deter her,” Fiveash said.
The group changed the name to Miracle UNG and ramped up the fundraising. UNG students raised $42,000 in their first year of the Dance Marathon, and Miracle was named Best New Dance Marathon in the nation. In the past year, the group brought in $53,000, and Callahan-Williams was one of 20 college seniors nationwide to be recognized for Dance Marathon leadership.
Fiveash said a majority of the UNG students are now involved in some way with Miracle because of the leadership and enthusiasm of Callahan-Williams.
“She even stepped aside as a senior and let other people lead her ‘baby.’ That speaks to what a great leader she is,” Fiveash said.
Though Callahan-Williams has never made a big deal about her own wellness journey, word gets around a small campus, and her story has become an inspiration to both UNG students and staff.
“Heather is one of the most driven, upbeat, inspirational students I’ve ever come across,” said Jenica Alvarez, coordinator of exercise science and the human performance lab for the UNG Department of Kinesiology.
“She has made an impact on the students, faculty, and community at UNG through her selfless character and drive to make a difference in the world. She spreads hope to everyone she meets,” Alvarez said.
Callahan-Williams continues to battle health issues, but, instead of slowing her down, it motivates her to work even harder. Rejecting her doctor’s advice to pull back on her course load, the honors student takes on extra assignments, often bringing along her care dog, Biscuit, to classes.
She wants to continue her studies and become a pediatric physical therapist so she can help kids who are battling their own medical issues.
“Starting Miracle, it gave me the motivation to keep going. It became my motivation to not stop,” she said. “It’s amazing for me to see how it’s grown. I’m so proud of them.”
WHAT INSPIRES HEATHER CALLAHAN-WILLIAMS
CHOA patients and their families: "When you see who you're helping, how could you not want to help them? I don't want any kid to go through what I went through."
Dance Marathon: Miracle at UNG set an initial Dance Marathon goal of $20,000, but students blew that away to bring in $42,000. "For us to raise $42,000 our first year was just insane."
“There’s burnout, especially toward the end of Dance Marathon. But when you flip those numbers and see how much you’ve raised, and you look over at these families who are going to benefit from this money, or you go to the hospital and see these kids and you see exactly who you’re helping, how can you not want to do something? These kids are our future. How could you not want to give them everything they deserve?”
Physical therapy: Coming into college, "I knew I wanted to (study) PT, and I know I want to work with kids. My goal would be to work at Children's Healthcare where they helped me and to be able to help some other kids."
Her support: Husband Ryan Williams is her greatest support. They started dating right when she got sick at age 16. She went into the hospital and he had just enlisted in the Army. "We've been through everything together," she said.
HELP US INSPIRE ATLANTA
We recognize a big part of our journalistic mission is to shine a spotlight on wrongdoings and to hold our public officials accountable.
But we also understand the importance of celebrating our region’s moments, milestones and people. That’s exactly what we hope to accomplish with Inspire Atlanta.
Each week, Inspire Atlanta will profile a person that makes metro Atlanta a better place in which to live.
Of course, we can't do this alone: We need your help in finding extraordinary people and identifying inspiring stories across our region. Clark Leonard, a communications specialist with the University of North Georgia, suggested today's story on Heather Callahan-Williams.
Know someone who inspires you or makes metro Atlanta a better place for others?
Email us at inspireatlanta@ajc.com.
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