Rocky Williform - Early Life and Education

Early Life and Education

Williform was born in Jonesboro, Arkansas to Jesse Williform Jr. and Opal Kindall and was raised by his mother as the fifth of eight children in public housing just north of Houston, Texas. He never had a good relationship with his father. He and his brother would help to make ends meet as preteens by working odd jobs and in their teenage years spent summers working on construction sites. He at one point learned to make fiberglass speed boats. Helping to raise the family became much more of a priority over school so much so that he learned he was far behind on his studies, and as a senior he had the credits of a sophomore. So on his 18th birthday he casually walked into the counselors office and requested to withdraw from school. He tells this story during a California speech how the counselor responded sternly saying "you're quitting school!" He responded "I'm not quitting, I'm withdrawing and am going to college." The counselor responded, "withdrawing and quitting are the same". He withdrew on that day and never returns. He obtained his GED and with plans to become an attorney attended Texas Southern University and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. He has since been listed by U.S. News & World Report as one of the university's notable alumni. He later studied at Southern Methodist University School of Engineering.

During college he had made a name for himself as a politically and socially conscious leader working as a political activist and a Texas democratic fundraiser. He would meet a Federal Reserve Board member who would become his mentor and encourage him to get into investment banking. This encounter led him to set aside his plan to enter law school after college, relocate to New York City, and become an investment banker participating in corporate takeovers.