Gerrit Williams, senior, is a varsity swimmer, varsity cross country and track runner, and a cross country captain. On top of this, he has an outstanding academic record and takes several math and science AP classes.
Living out an all star academic and athletic career, one may expect that Williams is also a gregarious kind of guy. But instead, he is reserved and quiet—a self-proclaimed introvert.
Introverts find mental and physical energy through self thought and reflection, while social interaction tends to be draining.
“There’s a misconception that if you’re not constantly talking then you just hate talking to people,” Williams said. “That’s really not true at all. It’s not like I don’t like talking to people. It’s just that introverts prefer to think by themselves and don’t feel like it’s always necessary to talk.”
Because Williams is generally quiet in class, one might not expect he would be in a position requiring him to lead 47 of his cross country teammates, but he has dreamed of doing so since the beginning of his high school career.
“I’ve wanted to be a captain since freshman year on my first day of summer camp,” Williams said. “I had some really great captains and wanted to be just like them and lead the team to a big success.”
Willams is proving even introverted students can successfully lead a group.
“[The team] was doing a timed mile and I was talking to him about goal times,” Matt Milner, sophomore, said. “I said a time I knew was too slow and he steered it out of my mind. I ended up doing great that day.”
Besides encouraging his teammates, Williams leads quietly through example.
“Everybody kind of knows what they’re doing and I just kind of let people operate by themselves,” Williams said. “I like to lead by example and demonstrate hard work.”
Williams acknowledges the importance of several personality types to an effective leadership team. The other boys’ cross country captains are seniors Jack Herman and Austin Kuehr.
“[The captains] have that introvert-extrovert mix,” he said. “Both are really important. When you have those two, that’s what really works.”