‘Auntie Sierra’ brings STEM to early readers; Claflin graduate teaches children through books

During the global crisis, Sierra Williams’ young grandnephew moved in to live with her. She monitored his virtual classes and soon realized that he was not interested in the suggested selection of books.

She told him, “Don’t worry, auntie will make you your own set of books.” Her pseudonym, “Auntie Sierra,” was born.

Her first book, titled “Lamar Takes a Trip,” is about a trip she and her nephew took together. She named the character “Lamar” after her brother.

Williams is the daughter of Orangeburg residents Melvin and Marilyn Williams.

She went to Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School and obtained her bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from Claflin University.

Williams continued her engineering studies at Clemson University and graduated with a master’s degree in computer engineering in 2009.

As a self-published author, Williams has a total of five books.

Her latest book, “Lamar and Maya Build a Robot,” was the #1 new release in the category of children’s engineering books on Amazon.

Williams works as an engineer at the Naval Information Warfare Center Atlantic in Charleston.

She takes pride in “being able to incorporate my career into early literacy.”

She was exposed to careers in education and science, technology, engineering and math by her parents. Her mom is a retired early childhood educator and her dad is a retired military electrician.

Williams says she is a “blend of both of them.”

“Engineer by day, early literacy author by night,” she said.

She calls her parents “unpaid interns,” because they assist with her various events.

“They’re at every event working in some capacity,” Williams said.

Her mom helps with sales and her dad takes pictures and videos. Williams’ first book signing event was at Randolph Artisan Italian Ice & Gelato in Orangeburg.

“Orangeburg is home,” she said. “It has a special kind of love.”

Williams recently hosted a workshop with Orangeburg’s First Steps program and will return in October to promote early literacy at the annual First Steps Day.

“I am very intentionally writing early literacy books. It’s not just reading for the sake of reading. Children are very capable and it’s important that they know what they can do at an early age,” she said.

Williams is a robotics coach at the Felix Pinckney Community Center in North Charleston. According to Williams, a lot of younger kids are interested in the team but cannot join until they are in the fourth grade.

Her latest book is inspired by those kids.

“It’s important that students are introduced to STEM as early as possible,” she said.

All of her books contain teachable moments, including word problems, math problems, relatable life skills and safety tips. She also has coloring/activity books with activities that push reading comprehension.

One of Williams’ goals was to increase African American representation in early reader books. She incorporated the character “Maya” because she wanted “little girls to also see themselves as the main character.”

In her next book, “Maya” and “Lamar” will join a robotics team.

Williams hopes to “inspire student interest in robotics.”

“It’s important for kids to see these careers as an option,” she said.

Williams says she has “many ideas for books” and can see her future self with as many books as the “Pete the Cat” series, which has more than 100 books.

Books by “Auntie Sierra” can be found on Amazon or at auntiesierra.com. Merchandise featuring the books’ characters can also be found on the website.

The author can be followed @auntiesierra on all social media platforms.