Senior Spotlight

A weekly column by Jerone Tyler focusing on graduating seniors-written by a graduating senior.

 Senior Jonathan Williamson poses for a picture. Photo by Ashley Freeman.

            As the youngest child, senior Jonathan Williamson learned to watch his surroundings at an early age.  Originally from LeRoy, Il., Williamson is the youngest of four children. “I always thought it was cool to be the youngest child,” said Williamson. “I didn't make a lot of mistakes growing up because I watched the mistakes my older siblings made.”

            Coming from a town of less than 3,000 people, finding things to do was difficult.  Despite this, Williamson found time to excel in many sports including baseball, basketball, soccer, and football. “There wasn't a lot to do in LeRoy, so I had to make the best of the situation,” said Williamson.

            Williamson later attended University High School, where he continued to play a number of sports. “University High was a hard school to get into, but because I excelled in athletics, I was accepted immediately,” said Williamson. “When I was at University, I played soccer, and was captain of the team both my junior and senior years of high school.”

            Along with playing sports, Williamson also was a member of the Drama Club. “I loved being in drama club, and acting in plays. It taught me a discipline of how to get a job done,” said Williamson.

            After high school, Williamson attended Illinois College for two years before he attended Monmouth. “One of the main reasons  I wanted to come to Monmouth  was because of the strong athletic program here,” said Williamson.

            While in college, Williamson decided to give the modeling industry a try. Williamson is currently employed with an agency in Chicago, and has several clientele.

             “I started modeling for Kohl's department store catalog, but I currently work runway shows for clients,” said Williamson. 

             At Monmouth, Williamson spends most of his time as a double major in Public Relations and Business. When studying is completed, Williamson finds the time to be active in his fraternity, ZBT, in a number of ways. For Greek week, Williamson was the co-choreographer for the ZBT/AZD winning performance routine.

             “Andrew Rubia and I created the dance for the Greek talent show in two days,” said Williamson. “After we created the dance, we practiced for about one week, and since, we have won the competition. I am on cloud nine,” said Williamson.

            Currently, Williamson is exploring several career options after graduation. “I am talking to Wells Fargo Financial, as well as my modeling agency in Chicago,” said Williamson. “Whichever deal best works for me is the one I will pursue after graduation.”