Winter Commencement 2024: Dance major and CVPA ambassador Amiya Williams puts her best foot forward

After she graduates in December, Amiya Williams plans to combine her double-major subjects - dance entrepreneurship and psychology - into a means for helping others.

"I've always been interested in psychology because I just like listening and trying to understand others," she explained. "And I've always been interested in dance, too, so I wanted to make sure I got both areas of study while I was an undergrad, because my eventual goal is to pursue dance/movement therapy," a practice that uses physical rhythm to help support users' emotional, intellectual and motor functions.

Fittingly, Williams, a native of Woodbridge, Virginia, has stayed in motion for most of her undergraduate career.

She's a member of Radford's Rocker dance team, has held a work study position with the Department of Dance since day one of her freshman year and serves as treasurer for two student organizations - Harmony in Motion and the College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) Ambassadors.

As a CVPA ambassador, Williams is often called upon to represent Radford at events and to promote the arts, and she's also a Highlander Guide tasked with showing guests around the university's campus.

"I feel like I've learned so much more about Radford by giving tours, and I like speaking to the incoming students," she said. "My work in the Department of Dance has also been a great opportunity to get to know the professors a little more and to tap into the arts administration side of things."

Amid all that activity, she found time to undertake a summer internship with the American Dance Festival and, in 2022, took her first trip to Europe, spending a month studying abroad in London, England.

"Those opportunities … would not have been possible without the support of the Radford University dance department faculty," Williams said.

"I've tried to maximize my time here at Radford. I feel like every opportunity that arose was an exciting one, and there was always so much to do."