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Williams is already the first gymnast to ever represent Jamaica in international competition, donning the yellow, black and green at every World Championships event since 2011. Should she make it past the Olympic Test Event in April, the women's gymnastics sophomore, who shattered program and conference records in her rookie campaign, stands to make history once again by becoming the first gymnast to sport Jamaican colors in the Olympics. Along the way, she hopes to inspire a nation to believe it can be more than track & field superstars (and the occasional bobsled team).

The American-born Williams was raised in Randallstown, Md., the daughter of two Jamaican emigrants who moved to the U.S. nearly 30 years ago. Williams' parents, Tony and Marlene, run a Jamaican grocery store in Maryland. Growing up, the Williams household was decorated with island-style flavor – tons of palm trees and plants – and Williams often feasted on traditional Jamaican dishes (her favorite is the staple ox-tail soup).  Though she was surrounded by a tight-knit Jamaican community, Williams did not feel heavily tied to her heritage.

“My parents wanted me to have my own identity and go to school and make friends and figure out who I am, but also never forget where I came from,” Williams said. “It was a good balance of both.”

A trip to Jamaica in 2010 changed her feelings for her parents' country. Williams, who was already beginning to flourish as a gymnast at that point, visited the island's gyms. Many were small structures with limited equipment.

“I thought, 'Oh my goodness, it is going to be an uphill battle trying to get gymnastics off the ground here.'” she said. “But I saw the kids, and they were super excited about gymnastics, and I did a few routines for them, and they kept commenting that they had never seen anything like that, so the mood was hopeful and people were willing to put in the hard work. That trip was eye-opening for me.”

Inspired by the small support system, Williams turned her focus to embracing her heritage on the international stage in hopes of driving more Jamaican youth to try gymnastics. But how to do that in a country that wholeheartedly embraces track & field success?

“In Jamaica, it's like Usain Bolt is president. They love him, they love track & field and they are all about it all the time. It is what Jamaica is known for, so they take pride in that,” Williams said. “It makes it a little harder to make other sports, especially gymnastics, easy to grasp for Jamaicans. Breaking that barrier was definitely really hard in the beginning, and we had some people who were really apprehensive about me competing.”

At her first World Championships in 2011 held in Japan, Williams' suffered a deep hand rip during her bar routine, limiting her abilities for the rest of the competition. Though she finished all four events, her scores were hampered by her injury. Still, it was a start for Jamaica.

“Once I competed for the first time at the World Championships, then people could actually see gymnastics in Jamaica going somewhere,” she said. “I think people could see the perseverance, and they were proud of my performance even though I didn't do what I knew I was capable of.”

She competed at Worlds again in 2013, and most recently this past October. This time, she didn't do it alone. Over the last five years, governmental changes in Jamaica have helped Williams' cause. She started a leotard drive for the Jamaican youth several years ago and is beginning to see the donations and support roll in. Support has also come in the form of other athletes stepping up to join Jamaica, including several male gymnasts, her sister Maya, and British-born Jamaican and UCLA standout Danusia Francis.

Stepping onto the floor at the October event in Glasgow, Scotland, Williams allowed herself a moment of reflection.

“I felt more pride mainly because we had more people on the team and I knew that all the work I had put into the team for the past five years was really paying off because we had a larger team and people were starting to notice and recognize gymnastics in Jamaica,” she said. “It made me proud to see that all my work was worth it, that progress has and will continue to be made, and that we're going somewhere with this.”

With strong performances in Glasgow from both Williams and UCLA's Danusia Francis, Team Jamaica earned one female berth to the Olympic Test Event in April. The Jamaican Gymnastics Federation awarded Williams the opportunity to be the test event representative, and another strong showing there will propel her to the world's biggest stage in Rio de Janeiro this summer.

Regardless of what happens over the next few months, Williams is hoping her journey will encourage other Jamaicans to pursue gymnastics.

She's already seen the work pay off with a fellow member of Team Jamaica, Nicholas Tai.

“He is just realizing that he can come to America with gymnastics to get a degree and it seems to be something he is really interested in,” Williams said. “He never realized that was an option. The idea that a degree can come from a sport is such a powerful tool and interesting to those who are pursuing the sport in Jamaica.”

Williams' other plans include opening up a training center in Jamaica with her fellow Jamaican teammates, including a shuttle service to  transport kids who can't afford to get to practice, and establishing ties with the U.S. team.

“There are talented kids,” she said. “They just don't have the resources like we have in America. I feel like if they did have the resources and equipment and facilities and the coaching they would be able to compete and get scholarships to colleges.”

In a country where 66 of its 67 Olympic medals come from track & field, Williams is ready to break through.

“It's crazy to think that a whole country is looking to me for an entire sport, but before if I thought about that, I probably would have gotten overwhelmed,” Williams said. “I feel like now I am able to handle that pressure and be a leader and ambassador for gymnastics in Jamaica. It is really the first time I've allowed myself to say, 'I am a Jamaican.' Before, I never felt like I deserved to call myself that. I wish I could describe the feeling you get when competing for your country, but it's indescribable. It's the best feeling in the entire world.”