Stephanie Williams was in her boarding house surrounded by many other kids, face-timing her mother and family back home in the Northern Territory when Geelong selected her with pick 27 in this year’s AFLW draft.

Williams could not have been happier when her name was read out too. With number 27 holding sentimental value.

“Twenty-seven happens to be my birthday, 27th of January so I was thinking this would be awesome if it was this one, it would be great and it was, and I just couldn’t believe it and I just kept crying,” Williams said.

“For days I was crying, and people were coming up and they were like ‘are you alright?’ (and I’d respond) ‘Yeah I am fine’, but I was just emotional and just overwhelmed by it and now I am still shocked and overwhelmed, but I just love it and it’s a great blessing.

“It is one thing to get drafted but I think it’s another to get drafted to a great club, so I am very lucky.”

Williams’ journey to AFLW is one of resilience and perseverance.

Intertwined with her love for football, was her passion for education and when she was 11 years old, she moved into a boarding house which she described as a ‘big adventure’.

It was at boarding school where some of the other Indigenous students taught Steph how to kick a football and she instantly realised that was the sport for her.

“Originally growing up I always loved kicking the footy around, anything I could find I was kicking something with a ball, I loved playing sport – netball was really the only sport I could play at the time because that was convenient for my Mum and growing up there wasn’t much for the girls anyway, so it wasn’t what it was today.”

“The main goal was education but then the next goal was footy, and I loved both things, they both went hand-in-hand with each other, so that was the process of going to that school.”

The boarding school saw girls from right across Australia attend.

“I was there for about five years with girls from all over different continents, different tribes and got to know many different languages.

“I was really privileged to go there and that’s where footy sparked interest for me because many Indigenous girls from different communities grew up with their footy, and (they) showed that to me and helped me learn how to kick a footy.”

After boarding school finished Williams returned home where she continued to play and develop her football skills.

With a burning desire to always seek new experiences and challenge herself, Williams made another big move this time to Geelong College where she received an Indigenous Youth Leadership scholarship.

“I wanted to challenge myself and I really wanted to get a higher education and so I put in different scholarships all over Australia and then I put into an Indigenous Youth Leadership scholarship and I got it, and it was to go to Geelong College.

“I was lucky enough to go to a school like that (which is) prestigious, has good staff and great education – but the cultural change was hard, coming from a community full of Indigenous people compared to being one out of a small bunch I guess.”

Her experience at Geelong College further fuelled her desire to give back to her community in the future, which is something she is hoping to achieve post-football.

“I would love to pursue a career that is helping people and eventually helping my own community back home because that is a big passion and that is where my love is other than footy.

“Something that’s going to empower more young Indigenous kids and make more leaders for the future I think and that’s what is going to be more important to see some change.”

Whilst education and giving back to her community will always be a focus for Williams, football for now is the focus and it holds a special place in her heart.

“I love the feeling (of playing football),” she said.

“It’s liberating and it is amazing playing football and being in an environment where people are really inclusive and very caring, and also just being able to celebrate you and celebrate the wins and celebrate each other, I think that’s also a really empowering part of football and I am very fortunate that I get to play at a high level now.”

The Club has had a positive first impression on Williams too.

“It seems like an inclusive Club that has got really good community values and I think it shows a lot in the players.

“People come up to you and say hello, g’day, offer a lift, teach you different things, especially if you don’t do a drill properly, ‘it’s alright you will get it next time’, a lot of encouragement and all the values of this club come out in the players and hopefully it stays that way as it’s a great place.”

For now, Williams has a simple goal in mind, but will no doubt have much larger ones in sight in the future.

“To work really hard and to hopefully get the rewards of working hard, but I am just stoked and can’t wait to start all the running and pre-season. Get into it and play some good footy.”