Olivia Williamson wants to be a conversation starter.

The sophomore, who was crowned Mr. Wash. U. on Thursday, aims to use her new role as a public figure of City Faces to shed more light on educational disparity, in St. Louis and beyond, while also being an advocate for kids who might not otherwise have one.

City Faces, the group Mr. Wash. U. raises money and awareness for, is a program that includes tutoring and mentoring, in addition to a community garden and other projects in the St. Louis area.

“I was really fortunate to have a really great schooling experience,” Williamson said. “Growing up, I thought everybody had that, and then as I got older…I realized that’s not what happens.”

“It’s kind of heartbreaking that there are people who feel like opportunities aren’t open for them,” she continued. “I think it’s our responsibility to, one, open opportunities, and two, to sort of help children understand and stand behind them and say, ‘You can do it.’”

However, this was not always Williamson’s focus. Growing up in Mequon, Wis., she attended a private K-12 school where her mother taught, and her family was well-known in the community.

“A lot of the women in my family are teachers, so I initially rejected the idea of working in education…I wanted to do my own thing,” she said.

When Williamson spent two summers teaching children, describing it as one of the most grueling things she’s ever done, it changed her perspective.

“At the end of the summer…I was unpacking and I found a bunch of the drawings the kids had made for me,” Williamson said. “It was sort of this ‘aha’ moment, and I was like, ‘Yeah, this is what I want to do for the rest of my life.’”

Williamson started at Washington University as a marketing major in the Olin Business School. However, she soon realized that the path she’d had in mind for so long was not the right one for her, so she switched to an education studies major in the College of Arts & Sciences.

“When I went to college…I really, really started to understand the sacrifices my parents made for me, especially as far as education,” Williamson said. Her parents were also in the audience at the show on Thursday. Her older brother, a fashion designer—although unable to come to the show—created the black skirt she wore in the talent portion of the event.

Outside the classroom, Williamson is a member of the Greenleafs, an all-female a cappella group on campus. Many of her fellow members came to Mr. Wash. U. to support her, and alumni helped her fundraising efforts for City Faces.

Music has always been a big part of Williamson’s life.

“My entire family is very musical. We sing our family blessing in harmony—there are multiple parts.” So, singing was a pretty obvious choice for Williamson’s Mr. Wash. U. talent, for which she performed “Lost boy” by Ruth B.

In addition to singing, Williamson plays piano and guitar. She also had a short-lived experience of playing the violin in second grade.

“Rehearsal was once a week after school. The teacher was like, ‘How many times did you practice?’ And if you said five, you got five Swedish Fish. I have a huge sweet tooth, so I would just make up absurd numbers…like, ‘I practiced twice a day, every day.’ And she was like, ‘Um, there’s no way you practiced fourteen times,’” Williamson laughed.

Williamson was nominated to be a Mr. Wash. U. candidate her freshman year, but she declined to participate because of the academic stress of transferring to Arts & Sciences. This year, she decided to re-apply and was chosen as a candidate for the 2016 competition.

In previous years, Mr. Wash. U. had four contestants from each grade. This year, however, “the applicants just weren’t there,” according to Williamson. Mr. Wash. U. started out with 13 candidates, but only nine eventually participated in the competition.

The small group made fundraising more challenging, but Williamson felt that it brought the candidates and executive members closer together. The group has raised over $21,000 this year, and donations are still coming in.

“Something they always say is that ‘Mr. Wash. U. brings together people from all the corners of campus,’ and it really does,” Williamson said. “It’s nice to have another family on campus.”

Williamson’s first act as the newly crowned Mr. Wash. U. was to announce that starting next year, the competition and title will be known as the gender-neutral Mx. Wash. U.

This decision came from the group’s executive board. One reason for the change was people’s confusion at having female candidates in a competition called “Mr. Wash. U.”

“We’re coming into an era of inclusion and diversity,” Williamson, who is also minoring in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, said. “Hopefully, it’ll start really important conversations that need to happen about heteronormativity, the gender binary and sexuality…I hope that it validates people and their experiences, and that…it will help people feel more included on campus.”

In a broader sense, Williamson feels strongly about increasing people’s awareness of each other on campus. In her job at the Danforth University Center, Williamson has gotten to know many of the University’s dining and janitorial employees.

“They deserve so much more attention and respect than people give them,” she said.

If she could change something about Wash. U., Williamson would prioritize “having more consideration for the spaces you occupy, and the people you come in contact with.”

Williamson hopes this will increase genuine connections and conversations among people on campus.

“The power of asking someone how their day is and actually listening to them is huge,” Williamson said. “There are so many ways for you to be a positive impact in someone else’s life.”

*Correction: This piece originally misidentified which skirt was designed by Williamson’s brother and has been updated to reflect the correct information. We regret the error.