Auburn grad, three-time Grammy winner Michelle Williams chats with students

From press release

Auburn High School alumnus Michelle Williams talked with students about her music industry career and the value of education during an informal visit with students in the Creative and Performing Arts program at her alma mater.

Williams toured the school and participated in a question-and-answer session for more than an hour with two dozen students on Auburn’s auditorium stage. The three-time Grammy Award winner described how she grew up in a low-income neighborhood where gunfire sometimes rang out in the street, but “beat the odds” in part because of teachers who showed her they cared and who inspired her.

One of those teachers, English instructor Ernest Stokes, was on hand for Williams’ appearance. “There are many teachers here who care about the students,” Williams said, “and Mr. Stokes is one of them.”

Williams graduated from Auburn in 1997 and is best known as one-third of the successful R & B group Destiny’s Child. Along with Beyoncé Knowles and Kelly Rowland, Williams went on to become one of the most popular performers in the world, recording a string of No. 1 singles and earning three Grammys. Williams was recently the first African-American to play the role of Roxy Hart in Chicago at London’s West End.

“I came out of Rockford schools,” Williams said. “I know great things can come out of Rockford schools. Whatever you decide to do, study all you can and remember success takes hard work.”

Video from Williams’ visit will provide the basis for the first in a series of promotions featuring successful Rockford Public School graduates delivering messages on making good choices and the value of education.