Shining Knights: STEAM Academy senior Zior Williams seeks to spread wings as legal eagle

Zior Williams has spent her entire academic life in Mount Vernon schools, but as a senior at the STEAM Academy, she’s thinking well beyond city limits — toward a future in law, service and global engagement.

Born in New Rochelle but raised in Mount Vernon, Zior grew up surrounded by family. Her father is a Mount Vernon native, her mother moved to the city from the Bronx as a child, and much of her extended family lived just down the street.

The middle child of four and the only girl, she describes a close-knit upbringing shaped by strong family bonds and shared responsibility.

Zior’s earliest school memories date back to pre-K at a daycare near the Food Bazaar, followed by kindergarten at Lincoln Elementary School. From there, she attended Rebecca Turner Academy, Benjamin Turner Academy and eventually the STEAM Academy.

Along the way, she said, Mount Vernon schools gave her consistency, support and a sense of belonging.

“I like being at STEAM because everyone came here for a purpose,” she said. “Most of us want to go somewhere in life, and we actually have plans. There’s not really drama — everybody just kind of coexists.”

That sense of focus has helped clarify her own goals. After graduation, Zior hopes to attend college as an English major with a pre-law minor, the first step in a long-term plan to become an attorney.

Zior envisions a career in international corporate law, though she’s also drawn to family law, where she could advocate for children who need someone compassionate.

Her dream school is Howard University and she has already heard back from several schools, including Albertus Magnus College, Alfred State College and Kean University.
“As long as I put in the work and the effort, I’ll get where I’m supposed to be,” she said.

Her interest in law was sparked through STEAM’s mock trial program, which began last year. Before joining, Zior had considered a medical career, but she quickly realized her strengths lay elsewhere.

“I’m better with English and history,” she said. “Once I got into the courtroom and started to understand how it worked, I felt like I could really do this — like, forever.”

Assigned to the prosecution team, Zior thrived in the structured back-and-forth of trial arguments.

“It was competitive, but controlled,” she said. “I could state my facts, be confident in what I was saying, and still respect the process. That really excited me.”

Friends and family weren’t surprised by her interest. Zior laughs that she’s long been told she should be a lawyer as someone who argues passionately but also stands up for people who can’t always speak for themselves.

That instinct carries over into her volunteer work. Through her mother’s job at a daytime program for adults with disabilities in Yonkers, Zior often helps out after school, coloring, playing games and spending time with participants.

“They’re people too,” she said. “They just need to be understood.”

She also volunteered through Junior Achievement in a kindergarten class serving students with special needs. For Zior, community service is about kindness, not recognition.

“If I have the means to give back, I should,” she said. “Sometimes it’s as simple as buying someone a sandwich or just showing them compassion.”

That quiet commitment was recently recognized when she was awarded a scholarship honoring her as an “Most Extraordinary Student” for community service, an honor she never expected after being nominated by her guidance counselor.

Speaking of counselors, Zior credits much of her academic stability to her longtime guidance counselor, Jennifer Goire-Peralta, who has supported her since elementary school.

“She’s been there making sure I had what I needed — classes, reading, being on track,” Zior said. “And she’s really helped me this year, especially with everything going on.”

Zior believes counselors play a vital role in students’ lives.

“They know your strengths and your weaknesses,” she said. “They help set you up on the right path when you don’t always know what you need.”

That support proved especially important during difficult moments. During high school, Zior lost her uncle, grandfather and, most recently, her grandmother, Sheila Harper, who lived just down the street and played a central role in her childhood.

“She pushed education so hard,” Zior said. “She didn’t make it past 11th grade, so she made sure her kids — and me — went further.”

Zior still carries her grandmother’s influence with her, literally and figuratively — keeping her necklace close and talking about her as if she’s still present.

“It’s not about the body,” she said. “It’s about the soul.”