FAIRHOPE, Ala. — Samantha Williams of Montrose will likely always be receptive to knowledge. Even though the 25-year-old already graduated from Fairhope High School and the prestigious Georgetown University, she sees every day as a learning opportunity.

Williams majored in history at Georgetown, specializing in both United States and African history. She said, “I wanted to see how far I could go if I applied myself.” That quest led her to a distant continent.

After spending time in Senegal in 2005, Williams went to South Africa three years later on a Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholarship. The academic program, which was founded in 1947 and discontinued in 2009, was a turning point for the young woman. Her local sponsor was the Fairhope Rotary Club.

Williams attended the University of Witwatersrand near Johannesburg (also known locally there as Wits), where she earned a master’s degree in development studies related to education and social development. Upon graduation, she joined the staff of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, where last year she was a resident assistant for 10th-grade girls enrolled in the master’s program.

“The whole experience has changed my life,” she said. “I now know what I want to do, and that’s improve education in African countries.”

Williams will be a residence director at the academy this year, guiding students in life orientation matters such as general life skills and health.

Part of that includes an HIV/AIDS component, aimed at helping reduce the number of AIDS cases there. She said the disease rate among women in Africa is much greater than it is among men.

The institution opened in January 2007 at Henley-on-Klip in Meyerton, south of Johannesburg. Winfrey established the school by donating $40 million after former South African President Nelson Mandella asked her to support post-Apartheid educational efforts.

The academy provides an education as well as leadership skills to academically gifted girls from impoverished backgrounds who show leadership abilities.

“I want to give that opportunity to all African children so they can live the desires of their heart,” Williams said. There is a bias against girls and women there that prevents them from reaching their goals, she added.

Williams said so many African women are succumbing to AIDS at an early age, while others simply struggle to survive by selling handmade goods along city streets.

While helping in a village where many of the women are confined to their homes, she met one in her 40s who is caring for her three grandchildren. Their parents died of AIDS-related illnesses.

Williams saw neighborhoods with three-room houses and only a few water pumps scattered throughout. She said, “I had never before been so aware of how some people are suffering. That was really tough.”

Williams will be working at the academy until at least the middle of this year, and she plans to return to college to earn a master’s degree in education. Noting she’s been in South Africa for three years now, she said, “I’ve never been happier in my life.”

She does miss her home in Baldwin County, however. Leaving after a visit here is always tough, as it was when she traveled back overseas after the Christmas and New Year’s holiday weekends. Williams has ways of coping with her homesickness.

“I have developed a network of people in South Africa that feel like family and friends,” she said.

Williams’ kin misses her, too. Her parents and three younger sisters hated to see her leave again, but they’re all philosophical about it. She said, “My family understands. They’re happy I’m doing what I love.”

Asked about meeting and later sitting down to dine with Winfrey, the talk show titan whose influence has been far-reaching, Williams said, “She’s amazing. Just watching her, knowing she’s just one person. I’ve wanted (to be) some version of that — being comfortable to do what I want to do. I feel special to be a part of it.”

Just like Winfrey, Williams herself is setting an example for young women to follow, and is representing her home country well. That’s a responsibility she’s not taking lightly.

“I hope that people will understand more about America and Americans,” she said. “I hope that people who meet me will have a better impression of America — that people will not think we just want to go out there and dominate.

“Educating children is good, and I want people to know there are people out there who care.”

If you would like to follow Williams’ life as it unfolds, as well as her efforts to help the people of South Africa, visit her online at http://sammyjoburg.blogspot.com/.