Basketball a big part of Jefferson graduate Williams' life

I heard many stories about his ...

When Candice Williams began playing basketball, she approached the game with a view to the future. “I started playing basketball for two reasons,” said Williams, a 1995 Jefferson graduate who will be inducted into the Ashtabula County Basketball Foundation Hall of Fame April 12. “The first was that my dad [Ed] was my hero and his favorite sport was basketball.

I heard many stories about his glory days and thought this would be something we could share, bond over and enjoy together. “The second reason was I was fortunate enough to have grandparents that took a real interest in me and talked to me often about the importance of finances and getting an education. Both lived through the depression and I was told often to take care of my money, save it and stay out of debt.

Neither my grandma or grandfather were able to complete high school and felt they could have been much more successful if they had access to an education. “So I thought ‘How can I get a college education without going into debt? ’ I knew I didn’t have the dedication to apply myself academically, but did have the drive to get an athletic scholarship.