Hello there! For those of you I haven't had the pleasure to meet yet, my name is Mrs. Williams. You may also here me called Ms. Jean or Ms. Jean-Marie. I currently teach all four levels of engineering classes at HHMS. This is my 12th year teaching and my 3rd year at HHMS. Prior to becoming a teacher, I was a therapist in the military and for the Office of Youth Development. Despite being a native of Louisiana, I received my undergraduate degree from Hendrix College in Conway, AR and my master's degree from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
Throughout my life, I have had the chance to visit 47 States (still missing Oregon, Alaska and Hawaii) and 15 countries spanning 3 continents. I am passionate about learning and helping students create new things. My favorite projects involve ones where someone develops a "wild idea" and we work together (using science and math) to figure out if and how we can accomplish it. That's how we ended up building a pneumatic t-shirt cannon and a 9-foot trebuchet (pictured here). I am a firm believer that no one is a complete expert and that we should all be challenged to constantly improve the world around us (whether through engineering, science, art, gaming, sports...or just in being a decent human being).
I love getting to be a part of FIRST robotics and getting to coach and work with so many different teams of all ages. That's where my family comes in to the scene. My partner in crime when it comes to coaching so many FIRST robotics teams is "Mr. Ben." We have been married for 21 years and have two daughters who are also heavily involved in engineering and robotics. Lauren is a 2020 graduate of HHMS and is now attending Worcester Polytechnic Institute in MA where she is majoring in Aerospace Engineering. Jillian is in the 8th grade at Hammond Eastside Magnet School and is a member of the FLL Challenge team, the Bayou Builders.
I am the current lead mentor/coach for FRC Torbotics 2080, four FTC teams (Super Cell, Storm Chasers, Cyclones, and Team Identity Crisis), one FLL Challenge team (the Bayou Builders), and 2 FLL Explore teams (the Imagineers, and Infinite Possibilities). If you're interested in learning more about what these teams do and how to join, don't hesitate to let me know.