Meeting Helena Williams, President of the Long Island Railroad!

Girl Scouts from Nassau County meet Helena Williams, President of the Long Island Railroad!

By Olivia Sabino, Guest Blogger

 

Hi! My name is Olivia and I am a Junior in the Girl Scouts of Nassau County Media Girl Unit.   On April 29, with a bunch of other Media Girls, I had the opportunity to meet the President of the Long Island Railroad.  Her name was Helena E. Williams.  Ms. Williams told us all about how she ended up as the President of the LIRR (she always found trains interesting). She even told us that she once was a Girl Scout too!!!  Ms. Williams started her career as a lawyer.  She then moved onto work for Long Island Bus, where she worked in many different positions before she ended up as the President. After Long Island Bus, Ms. Williams moved onto work for the Long Island Railroad. Her past experience with buses helped her become the first female President of Long Island Railroad. June 2013 is going to be her 6th year as the President of the LIRR.  It was very interesting to meet such an important woman.

What was one piece of advice Ms. Williams gave you?

Mrs. Williams told us that high school is really important because it is the base of a good education!

Did you get to ask Ms. Williams any questions?

I asked Ms. Williams, “how fast do the trains go and how many trains does the LIRR have?”  The trains go up to about 80 miles per hour on certain tracks and there are about more than 1,000 trains, she said. 

I also asked her if her job was challenging. She said yes, she loves the challenge. And one of the challenges she faced was becoming the first woman President of the LIRR.