Competing fuels drive to always be better

“How can I make it better?”

Asking and answering that question inspires Kimberley Williams, clinical assistant professor of management and corporate communication at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School.

A true competitor with a passion for learning, she regularly asks herself, “How can I make this class better? How can I make myself better? What can I do this week to switch it up? That’s exciting as a teacher.”

Her teaching approach is interactive and collaborative. She uses “five-minute chats” with her students to kick off her Management and Corporate Communication course. “They know that when they come to class, they’re going to have to become comfortable sharing their ideas and think critically about what they’re doing.”

At the end of the term, they created a Spotify playlist to showcase what they had learned and how they were feeling.

From Jamaica to the world stage

Williams grew up in St. Catherine, Jamaica. “I like to think that I am warm, resilient and competitive – all the things that my country embodies,” she says.

She started track at 10 and did high jump until ninth grade, when she “stopped getting taller and the bar got higher.”

A scholarship to the University of Alabama brought her to the U.S. at 18. “It was an opportunity to push toward being a great track athlete and doing well in school. It was a great combination, and I had success in both areas.”

Her individual goal was “to make it to a World Championship and an Olympics. Those were my two major track-and-field goals, and I achieved one of them.”

Competing at the Olympic level

Williams participated in the 2015 Pan-American Games, where she earned fourth place, and the 2015 Beijing World Championships, where she placed 16th.What was it like to compete at that level? “Amazing would be one word. Difficult would be another,” she says. “Making it to the World Championship team was probably one of the best highlights of my life. I had to work so hard to get there and it was a pinnacle of achievement.”

Getting there meant she had to get up every day to prepare for something that might not happen. “It comes down to one race that lasts between 12 and 13 seconds,” she says. “That’s the window you have to potentially make it on a team where only three people can go.”

That experience built her confidence, resiliency and discipline.

Competing at that level also taught her a lot about business. “When I signed a contract to be a Puma-sponsored professional track-and-field athlete, she “essentially became a business.” She honed her communication skills as she represented the Puma brand internationally, endorsing the Puma brand exclusively in all public appearances and promoting it for business development, customer entertainment, promotional programs and all track-and-field outings.

Learning is where Williams blends creativity, understanding and knowledge.

Finding her way to academia

Williams kept up her studies while competing as a professional athlete, earning her master’s and PhD at Alabama. “I knew I was going to find myself back somewhere in the academic space in my post-track life because I love learning. It’s where I could blend creativity, understanding and knowledge.”

Her first stint teaching online classes wasn’t a success. “I wasn’t interactive enough. I was boring. I mimicked what I had experienced in undergraduate classes. You think that’s how it’s supposed to be: I stand, I talk, you write, you listen. And my reviews weren’t good. Students didn’t feel connected.”

Her competitive nature kicked in. She learned what makes online classes effective, and students responded. “They started to enjoy the class more. I was like, alright, this is where I need to stay.”

Coming to Carolina

When the offer came to join the UNC Kenan-Flagler faculty in 2022, Williams saw it “as a great place to grow.” Also appealing was the chance to get involved outside the classroom, too.

Williams and her students mark their last day of class.

That meant a research project and a new teaching experience. She is researching how undergraduate business students use and perceive generative AI. Her study received funding from the UNC Center for Faculty Excellence (CFE) 2024-25 CFE/Lenovo Instructional Innovation Grants Program.

The teaching experience was new in terms of format, topic and location. Williams developed and taught an Undergraduate Business Program (UBP) class on sustainability and innovation in Malaysia, her first dive into both a Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL+) program and sustainability.

UNC Kenan-Flagler, Kansai University in Suita in Japan and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, partnered to offer the class. Students built relationships online with their classmates before they convened in Kuala Lumpur in March 2025. They worked on a team project assessing Malaysia’s sustainable business solutions and developed insights into practices they could apply in international contexts. They also developed skills like intercultural communication and cross-cultural collaboration.

Williams students’ growth sustains her. “They have learned skills. They’re not acquiring just knowledge. I see the real, practical, tangible value. And that motivates me to be better.”