Looking back at her teenage years, Maria is quick to point out that she “was not a Young Life kid.” Though she was aware of Young Life while attending E.C. Glass High School in Lynchburg, Virginia, she only attended club a handful of times and was more connected to her church. Following high school graduation in 2002, Young Life was still not on the radar as she attended Winthrop University in South Carolina, where she studied interior design. It wasn’t until 2008, two years after college graduation while starting her second job and moving to Reston, Virginia, that Maria was reintroduced to Young Life. According to Maria, the years preceding this season of life had seen some “drift.” “I was living life here and now, and was shocked by the loneliness I felt.” After connecting with local staff, Maria began leading Young Life at Herndon High School. What she didn’t realize was that saying “yes” to investing in adolescents would not only increase her faith and help her to grow spiritually, but would also provide her with community and lifelong friends. And wow did Maria say “yes!”

In the last 15 years Maria has:

• Served as a volunteer leader and team leader for Herndon High School Young Life.
• Led cabins at more than twenty summer and fall camps, and work crew weekends.
• Discipled countless girls in weekly small groups.
• Led three Young Life mission trips to El Salvador with high school students.
• Volunteered as a Capernaum leader and team leader.
• Served as a WyldLife leader.
• Partnered financially as a monthly donor.

Over the years, Maria has also maintained a demanding full-time job as an interior designer. Again, in the words of Emma Collie, “To focus on things that matter, while holding a marketplace vocation is exemplary. To continue to serve while peers step away is honorable. To live a life seeking Jesus is the goal. I’m so grateful we have people like Maria Williams showing us it’s possible.”

When asked why she has chosen to give so much to and through Young Life, Williams is quick to say, “Because Jesus has impacted my life in a hugely tangible way, and I want to share that with others. He has changed my life through leading and I know I would not be the same without the deep relationships I’ve formed through ministry. The way I see it, giving back is the natural thing. Am I going to go out to dinner five nights a week? No. I have free time. There is enough time.” Furthermore, Maria says, “I love the legacy in kids, and the missional community that has been built is incredible.”