Corinthia Nicole “Nikki” Cunningham-Williams was both the life of the party and the knock on the door that got her friends up for church.

“You were always going to have a laugh — I don’t care where you were or what you were doing,” said De’Neasha Robinson-Cunningham, one of her sisters. “I mean, she had a big heart, but she always wanted to be laughing. And anyone who met her or came in her path, you were impacted by her in some way, but you normally got a kick out of it and you always had a story.”

One of her other sisters, Tangala Brown, said Cunningham-Williams  brought energy and spontaneity everywhere she went.

“She was like the goofy person, the crazy person,” Brown said. “She would be the one where, during the holidays, we’re all dressed up and she’d come out with a cookie monster onesie on.”

Friends and family collectively recall a lot of things about Cunningham-Williams — the food she always cooked for people around her, the confidence she exuded, the pure determination she had to reach her goals, her passion for health and exercise and her willingness to help those around her.

“She had a personality that was so different,” said her best friend D’Juan Johnson. “She was very confident, and a lot of people admired her for her confidence. She was very independent — she was strong.”

Johnson said Cunningham-Williams brought passion to everything she did, including her studies at Texas A&M.

“She was always persistent and determined to reach her goals and she stayed up on me and my other friends and made sure we did things,” Johnson said. “She was always doing something productive.” 

Cunningham-Williams was a devoted Christian who never turned down a friend in need, said Tangala Browwn.

“She would extend herself to the fullest,” Brown said. “She always kind of worked two jobs, but she would get off those jobs and go help somebody.”

Her brother Joshua Cunningham said he and his siblings had a difficult home situation growing up, but Cunningham-Williams always encouraged him to rise above the hardship. He said Cunningham-Williams offered him encouragement on the phone two days before she passed away.

“When she died, it stuck with me,” Joshua said. “It’s just with me forever.”

Robinson-Cunningham said Cunningham-Williams loved A&M and was determined to graduate and set an example of success for her family.

“She wanted her ring so badly,” Robinson-Cunningham said. “I think that’s one of the things that hurt so badly is that she was so close to getting her class ring. That was all she talked about because when you got your ring, you knew you made it.”

Johnson said he’ll miss the walks to class with her and crossing off items on their bucket lists together.

“We were always around each other all the time, and you would usually get tired of a person from being around them all the time, but she was so much different,” Johnson said. “I enjoyed being around her all the time. We could talk about anything, do anything. We just did things out of the ordinary.”

Robinson-Cunningham said she holds on to a piece of advice that Cunningham Williams instilled in her — stay true to yourself.

“I think that’s what helps us cope, knowing that for the most part she achieved her goals,” De’Neasha said. “She lived as she wanted to live.”