Williams College is prestigious liberal arts college located in Williamstown, Massachusetts. U.S. News and World Report has ranked Williams College as the top liberal arts college in the U.S. for fifteen consecutive years. The college enrollment is just over 2,000 students and offers 36 majors in a variety of fields. Students are required to take courses from three separate areas of study; Languages and the Art, Social Studies, and Mathematics and Sciences. The college has gained is prestigious reputation due to the success of its graduates in many fields. Here are the top 5 most successful Williams College graduates.
1. James Garfield
Garfield graduated from Williams in 1856 and entered in politics a year later. He was elected as the 20th President of the United States and was assassinated later that year. He was born and raised in Ohio by his single mother and grew up working multiple jobs and attending various schools in hopes to educate himself. Garfield also served for nine terms as a congressmen for Ohio’s 19th district, he was later elected to the senate, however, declined the seat due to his presidency.
2. Elia Kazan
Elia Kazan was renowned director for both theatre and film. He graduated from Williams and then attended Yale Drama School. His parents were Greek and Kazan was born in Constantinople during the time of the Ottoman Empire (1909). He directed the renowned films Street Car Named Desire, and On The Waterfront which featured the Hollywood star, Marlon Brando, as well as the film East of Eden with star, James Dean. Kazan won two Oscars, three Tony awards, and four Golden Globes.
3. Kristen Anderson-Lopez
Anderson Lopez graduated from Williams in 1994 with a double major in Drama and Psychology. Anderson is a popular film scorer and has written the music for many animated films and shows. She has won two Academy Awards for Best Original Song for her work on the animated films, Frozen and Coco. She has also worked on tv shows like Wonder Pets and Disney’s 2011 production of Winnie the Pooh.
4. George Steinbrenner
George Steinbrenner was a businessman and owned the New York Yankees (Major League Baseball) from 1973-2010. Steinbrenner graduated from Williams in 1952 and racked up an impressive extracurricular resume. He was a member of the Track and Field team, Football team, Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity, and editor of the Williams Record. After Williams he enlisted in the Air Force and served as lieutenant, and then attended graduate school at Ohio State. While owning the Yankees, the team won 7 World series and 11 pennants (League Championship).
Steve Case
Case is an American Entrepreneur and investor. He earned a degree in Political Science from Williams College in 1980. Case is best known as co-founder and chief executive officer of AOL, the web portal and online service. He is estimated to be worth 1.37 billion dollars. Case also worked as the Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship and served on Obama’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness and National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Case also published a book, The Third Wave: An Entrepreneur’s Vision of the Future, which became a New York Times Best-Seller.
These figures have all risen to the top of their respective fields and have long lists of impressive accomplishments. While their are many other accomplished Williams Graduates, these 5 particularly stick out, and they all got their start at Williams College.
