When Dr. Emily Harber Williams decided to “step out of the boat” and leave her conventional job as a special education teacher with the Vicksburg Warren School District to start a new type of school, she had no idea where it would take her. Now, eight years later, her efforts have earned her the recognition of “2025 Remarkable Women Award,” through WJTV and Nexstar, its owning company.

More than 150 women in Mississippi were nominated for the award, a contest WJTV has been sponsoring for several years. This year, two were chosen: Williams, as the representative for Central Mississippi and Sue Magee, as the representative for the Hattiesburg “Pine Belt” area.

Williams had a vision for a new way to teach children with learning and behavioral challenges and put that vision into action in when she opened Micah’s Mission. The name of the faith-based school was inspired by a verse in the Bible, Micah 6:8, which says “. . . act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with your God.” Williams frequently uses references to boats and water as examples of trusting God, as Peter did in the New Testament when he walked on water to Jesus.

Dion Adkins of Grace Christian Counseling Center nominated Williams for the award. Adkins works with Williams leading weekly counseling sessions with children who attend Micah’s Mission.

“I nominated her because I thought she was a perfect fit as a remarkable woman,” Adkins said. “She embodies all the qualities they were looking for, personally, professionally and community impact.”

He was required to write a short essay to WJTV about why Williams was the right woman for the award.

“It’s meant a lot, being able to read his words, of how he sees what I do. It really changed my perspective of how I see myself. He had some beautiful words,” Williams said of the essay.

In January, the TV station notified Adkins that Williams had won. It was kept a secret from Williams until February, when Adkins was instructed to bring her to the station. She went, anticipating an interview. She and Magee were left in the reception area wondering what was going on.

“I went in first,” Williams said. “They popped the confetti, and there were five other previous winners on the stage with Melanie Christopher. They told us, ‘y’all won!’ I’m not very often speechless, but this . . . I was like, ‘pinch me, is this real?'”

When Christopher later came to Vicksburg and Micah’s Mission to film and interview Williams, she said the students were delighted to see a television personality and her film crew.

The segment aired on WJTV April 1. But that wasn’t all. As part of winning the award, on April 13, Williams was whisked away to Hollywood. There, she met 124 other award winners from across the nation.

“They greeted us with all these gifts and interviews,” Williams said. “We all had our own personal driver; we had a cocktail dinner and pool party. Leeza Gibbons was there throughout the weekend. Everywhere we went, they had a red carpet for us. They treated us like royalty. It was amazing.”

The award recipients were treated to an open-air Hollywood bus tour, a tour of Warner Bros. Studio and got to sit in on the filming of Jennifer Hudson’s television show.

“We all went back (to our hotel), got glammed up, put on formal attire and had another red-carpet event and dinner. They had it all set up like an Oscars event,” Williams said.

Williams was awarded $1,000 for Micah’s Mission, which is a 501(c)3 organization. Five semifinalists were chosen for $5,000 awards and the overall winner received $25,000.

When asked what her favorite part of the event was, Williams didn’t hesitate. “The diversity. It was so beautiful,” she said. She related meeting the first African American female pilot in the United States who now teaches girls how to fly. Another woman who left an impression was a 94-year-old Polish resistance fighter from World War II.

“Seeing how people came out of adversity and recognized that they did not have to ‘be’ their circumstances, and now they’ve taken that . . . of how their life once was . . . they’re bringing what they’ve experienced and trying to help alleviate others from that experience in their communities. It’s so beautiful,” Williams said.

Williams even received her own “Hollywood star,” indicating she was a 2025 Remarkable Women recipient award winner, which she was able to bring home.

Although Williams didn’t win the top prize, she said it was fulfilling to see the winners, most of whom had been working on their missions for a long time, be rewarded. “It was inspiring,” she said.

“God is limitless,” Williams said. “If you’re open to not putting limits on God, anything can happen.

Many of the students are able attend Micah’s mission due to charitable contributions made to pay for their tuition. Some attend full-time, while others attend via online school or part-time, depending on their need.

The 2025 Remarkable Women awards ceremony will be broadcast on the CW television channel at 9 p.m. Sunday night.