Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics
Welcome to the Family
April 09, 2020 | Softball, HailStateBEAT
by Brian Ogden, Assistant Director/Communications
STARKVILLE – When she was in first grade, Annie Willis got a new brother. She remembers the two weeks where she had to stay with friends because her parents were gone. She remembers the trip to the airport to pick them up. But most of all, she remembers the first meal at the kitchen table with Seth.
"The first thing we did was go and drive through McDonald's to get him some French fries because they hadn't eaten," she said. "We went back to our house, and with the time change, he was wide awake. He was just talking non-stop, but not in English. None of us knew what was going on, but he was so excited."
The Willis family adopted Seth from China. He is a year and a couple of weeks younger than Annie, and the two are the babies of the family. At first, they butted heads. A lot. As the youngest, they'd be the ones the three older siblings picked on. But of course, they also didn't make things any easier for each other.
After growing up with an adopted brother and two adopted cousins and watching family friends go through the adoption process, Willis began to feel a desire to help others in similar situations.
"I realized I wanted to do something in the field of adoption or foster care," she said. "I think it really stemmed from knowing so much information about when we adopted my brother and the process families have to go through. It was something I really felt like I should pursue and go after."
It started in an "Intro to Social Work" class her freshman year. She was undecided on her major when she began her college journey at Troy, but that class showed her two possible options she could pursue. She'd either work in the adoption and fostering field or take an interest in the criminal justice side of things to help kids get out of bad situations.
"I thought I had a good idea of this career field just because of information I had picked up as I was growing up, but once I finally got into my core classes, there's a lot I've learned," Willis said. "I've realized that it's something I really am passionate about. I enjoy going to class every day. It's something I actually look forward to. When I get my schedule and I have my core classes for my degree, it just makes me excited."
One of the things she has learned has been a new way to define "family." One of her classes asked students to look at examples of groups of people and determine if they were a family or not. She recognized that family looks to different to everyone, and it doesn't have a set definition.
It has changed her outlook on her future too. Willis looks back on those early years with her siblings now and laughs. She always said she didn't want to have kids, but now she can't imagine a career that doesn't surround her with children.
"I think eventually, I would love to be a foster parent and then maybe foster to adopt," Willis said. "I plan to adopt kids. I want to work in the adoption field or foster care system when I graduate. I'm not exactly sure what area yet, but I personally feel like every kid deserves the right to have a chance at a forever home."
For now, she has adopted the Mississippi State softball team's pitching staff. Willis is known as the mom of the team, something she takes pride in. Before the season began, each player was asked to think of something they could do as an individual to help the team. Willis listed herself as the bullpen "hype man."
"I chose that because I felt like I'd always be one that no matter what could get them pumped up for the situation," she said. "I feel joy in being able to help and see others succeed. If I can benefit somebody to reach their full potential, that is what I feel the most success in, seeing other people succeed."
Despite being a huge introvert, Willis is often one of the most outspoken players on the field. She's the first one to pump her first when a teammate makes a play and can be seen pointing out other players' success while she's in the circle. Her Twitter feed is nothing but retweets and comments celebrating the achievements of her teammates.
"I'm going to make sure that they know it's a good play," she said. "When I go on the softball field, it's like something takes over me. It's just different. If you met me outside of softball, you wouldn't think that I am the way I am in softball."
When Willis decided to transfer to Mississippi State, the program's emphasis on being a family was attractive.
"I've been a part of other programs before and it was something that was always talked about and really focused on, but it's just different here," she said. "It's on another level. It's the fact that you know no matter what, even if you mess up, you know there's going to be someone there to help you. Everyone always has your best interests at heart no matter what."
With the remainder of the 2020 season canceled, Willis returned home. Her siblings have all moved out of the house, so she's left to live as an only child with her parents.
"It's made me realize how glad I was growing up with my siblings," she said. "Granted as we were growing up, we all fought tooth and nail. It was some fun times, but I'd never change it for the world."
STARKVILLE – When she was in first grade, Annie Willis got a new brother. She remembers the two weeks where she had to stay with friends because her parents were gone. She remembers the trip to the airport to pick them up. But most of all, she remembers the first meal at the kitchen table with Seth.
"The first thing we did was go and drive through McDonald's to get him some French fries because they hadn't eaten," she said. "We went back to our house, and with the time change, he was wide awake. He was just talking non-stop, but not in English. None of us knew what was going on, but he was so excited."
The Willis family adopted Seth from China. He is a year and a couple of weeks younger than Annie, and the two are the babies of the family. At first, they butted heads. A lot. As the youngest, they'd be the ones the three older siblings picked on. But of course, they also didn't make things any easier for each other.
After growing up with an adopted brother and two adopted cousins and watching family friends go through the adoption process, Willis began to feel a desire to help others in similar situations.
"I realized I wanted to do something in the field of adoption or foster care," she said. "I think it really stemmed from knowing so much information about when we adopted my brother and the process families have to go through. It was something I really felt like I should pursue and go after."
It started in an "Intro to Social Work" class her freshman year. She was undecided on her major when she began her college journey at Troy, but that class showed her two possible options she could pursue. She'd either work in the adoption and fostering field or take an interest in the criminal justice side of things to help kids get out of bad situations.
"I thought I had a good idea of this career field just because of information I had picked up as I was growing up, but once I finally got into my core classes, there's a lot I've learned," Willis said. "I've realized that it's something I really am passionate about. I enjoy going to class every day. It's something I actually look forward to. When I get my schedule and I have my core classes for my degree, it just makes me excited."
One of the things she has learned has been a new way to define "family." One of her classes asked students to look at examples of groups of people and determine if they were a family or not. She recognized that family looks to different to everyone, and it doesn't have a set definition.
It has changed her outlook on her future too. Willis looks back on those early years with her siblings now and laughs. She always said she didn't want to have kids, but now she can't imagine a career that doesn't surround her with children.
"I think eventually, I would love to be a foster parent and then maybe foster to adopt," Willis said. "I plan to adopt kids. I want to work in the adoption field or foster care system when I graduate. I'm not exactly sure what area yet, but I personally feel like every kid deserves the right to have a chance at a forever home."
For now, she has adopted the Mississippi State softball team's pitching staff. Willis is known as the mom of the team, something she takes pride in. Before the season began, each player was asked to think of something they could do as an individual to help the team. Willis listed herself as the bullpen "hype man."
"I chose that because I felt like I'd always be one that no matter what could get them pumped up for the situation," she said. "I feel joy in being able to help and see others succeed. If I can benefit somebody to reach their full potential, that is what I feel the most success in, seeing other people succeed."
Despite being a huge introvert, Willis is often one of the most outspoken players on the field. She's the first one to pump her first when a teammate makes a play and can be seen pointing out other players' success while she's in the circle. Her Twitter feed is nothing but retweets and comments celebrating the achievements of her teammates.
"I'm going to make sure that they know it's a good play," she said. "When I go on the softball field, it's like something takes over me. It's just different. If you met me outside of softball, you wouldn't think that I am the way I am in softball."
When Willis decided to transfer to Mississippi State, the program's emphasis on being a family was attractive.
"I've been a part of other programs before and it was something that was always talked about and really focused on, but it's just different here," she said. "It's on another level. It's the fact that you know no matter what, even if you mess up, you know there's going to be someone there to help you. Everyone always has your best interests at heart no matter what."
With the remainder of the 2020 season canceled, Willis returned home. Her siblings have all moved out of the house, so she's left to live as an only child with her parents.
"It's made me realize how glad I was growing up with my siblings," she said. "Granted as we were growing up, we all fought tooth and nail. It was some fun times, but I'd never change it for the world."
Players Mentioned
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