Eden Williamson is the first to admit that her student-athlete experience has been special, to say the least.
Not many juniors can say they went their first two seasons of women's college basketball without losing a single game. The New York University guard not only has two NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship rings, but her team is also riding a record-breaking winning streak. Entering the 2025-26 postseason, which begins Friday, the Violets have won 87 straight games, six wins past the previous Division III record.
If the historic amount of success has taught Williamson anything, it's to truly cherish the moments she is fortunate enough to have.
"I've definitely learned to not sweat the small stuff," Williamson said. "If it's not in my control, I don't need to worry about it … because these moments definitely don't last forever. That's why they're special."
Williamson cherishes the success she's had on the court, but years from now when she's reminiscing on her time as a student-athlete, what has happened on the court won't be top of mind.
What will stand out, however, is a memory of the 2025 Division III Women's Basketball Championship game, when Williamson and her team spent time with their 10-year-old Team IMPACT teammate, Amina.
Team IMPACT is a nonprofit organization that pairs college athletics programs with children facing serious illnesses or disabilities. In August, the NCAA and Team IMPACT announced a strategic collaboration to foster long-term relationships between student-athletes and youths to inspire and promote belonging, empowerment and resilience.
Amina has sickle cell disease, an inherited blood disorder. She was paired with the New York University women's basketball team in the spring of 2024. Less than a year later, she was joining the team as it prepared to play for a second consecutive national championship in Salem, Virginia.
Eden Williamson (far right) poses with her NYU teammates and their Team IMPACT teammate, Amina, after being matched in 2024. (Photo courtesy of New York University)
"We were all just eating food and hanging out, and (Amina) and her family came in, and she was telling us about the great day she had had in Roanoke," Williamson said. "Getting to listen to her and hang out with her and talk about all the fun stuff … that's what I'll remember most. The winning was cool, but that moment was probably what I'll remember."
Fostering a meaningful relationship with Amina has been important to Williamson and her teammates. Williamson admits she and other team members didn't know exactly what it meant to have a Team IMPACT match before being paired with Amina, but they knew right away they wanted to create a welcoming space for their new teammate. Having buy-in from both sides made the pairing seamless.
"I think a lot of us maybe didn't know how to start that process with her," Williamson said. "But (because of) her willingness to jump in, we were all like, 'Oh, great. It's going to be easy. It's not going to be this big, long process.'"
It didn't take long for Amina and her new teammates to start teaching one another valuable lessons that go far beyond the drawing competitions and games they play during their time together. Williamson said she has learned more about sickle cell disease and, more importantly, how strong Amina is as she battles through it.
"Seeing how resilient she is and how she gets through her tough times with a smile on her face, I think has made me realize bad days don't have to be bad days," Williamson said. "You can't just chalk everything up to, 'Oh, it was a bad day.' You can find a way to power through and find little wins and laugh on the days that you're really not feeling the best."
When those bad days do come, Williamson has learned it's a lot easier to find a silver lining when you have teammates around who care for you.
"I know that if I'm walking into the locker room and I'm not feeling it, someone's going to grab me and be like, 'All right, come on. We're getting through this today. Let's go,'" Williamson said. "And then if something goes wrong, I always have a support network, I have people who have my backs all the time."
That same sense of comfort is what Williamson and her New York University teammates hope to provide for Amina — when she feels down, she has teammates ready to pick her up.
"Whenever the kids in Team IMPACT are going through these things, it can be really isolating, and you can feel like you're on your own a lot," Williamson said. "I think that the power of having others to build you up is really helpful."
Since being matched with Amina, Williamson has become more involved with Team IMPACT as a fellow for the organization and co-president of her campus chapter. Currently a premedical student, Williamson has aspirations to continue school in a physician's assistant program. Working with Team IMPACT has given her another opportunity to help others.
If there was any doubt about the kind of difference Williamson could make through Team IMPACT, it's long gone, replaced with a desire to find more student-athletes to start the journey with her.
"Once you feel like the magic of it, you will wonder why you were even hesitant in the beginning," Williamson said. "Push yourself outside your comfort zone and absolutely get involved. It's amazing."
