She found out she is descended from an ex-slave. Find out what she told Malverne students.

Cheryl Wills said her life changed forever in 2009 when she uncovered an unexpected fact hidden deep within her family tree.

That’s when she visited Ancestry.com and found out that she’s related to Sandy Wills, a former slave who fought in the Civil War more than 150 years ago.

The Davison Avenue School in Malverne invited Cheryl Wills to tell her story to fourth, fifth and sixth-graders on Friday, March 24 in honor of Women’s History Month.

She told the students that she has worked as a journalist for NY1 News since 1992, which has opened more opportunities for her, such as several acting jobs in movies and shows.

“I’ve been a reporter for almost 40 years,” she said, adding that she has used her journalistic skills to research the story behind her family. “I think it’s so important to know your family history to know who you are, because everyone here is beautiful and you have an amazing story. You just don’t know it.”

Sandy Wills, who is her great-great-great grandfather, helped make these opportunities possible for her, she said, paving the way for freedom in the United States by fighting in the Union Army.

“During the Civil War, they set up a special unit just for the black men, and they called it the United States Colored Troops,” Wills said.

Before he served in the Union Army, he was auctioned to Edmond Wills at the age of 10, which is how they ended up with their surname.

“For my grandpa Sandy, the moment he was free, he ran away and joined that special unit,” Wills said. “Grandpa Sandy did whatever he could to be free.”

She said he “learned how to be a soldier,” even though he did not know how to read or write. “He didn’t even know his left from right,” Wills said. “But he was a strong soldier.”

After his side won the Civil War, he returned home, reuniting with his mother for the first time since he was auctioned off.

“She couldn’t believe her eyes,” Cheryl Wills said. “She could have not been prouder.”

A few years later, in 1869, Sandy Wills married a woman named Emma. “She was a former slave, too, and they started a whole new life together,” Cheryl Wills said. Their child, William, was the first free child in Cheryl Wills’ family.

Cheryl Wills said her purpose in sharing this story with students was to encourage them to persevere and to never give up.

“Whether your family came from Europe, Africa, South America, or anywhere else, honor your legacy,” Wills said.

She said she was able to trace her roots back more than 200 years and encouraged students to do the same because they may also find something unexpected.

Following her presentation, Wills told students that she brought with her a piece of history to show them.

“Lincoln made copies of the Emancipation Proclamation because he knew that he would be forever famous for being the president to free the slaves,” she said as she displayed a copy of the historic document for all the students, staff and parents to see.

“It is so important,” Wills said about sharing her story with students. “Being a descendant of a Civil War soldier is an honor.”