The (Student) Body Wonders about Dr. Williams

“I believe the ability to think is blessed. If you can think about a situation, you can deal with it. The big struggle is to keep your head clear enough to think.” – Richard Pryor

The student body has done a poor job keeping our minds clear and critical when it comes to Dr. Shanna Williams. Bonding over body part learning, in lecture and in lab, leaves us enchanted and enraptured with her. As an articulate, effective public speaker, she cajoles with captivating case studies and artfully arranged anatomy slides. She enthusiastically encourages students to wonder about body structures, while grounding her lecture content in associated real world relevance.

Interestingly, the student body knows little about the real world and work of Dr. Shanna Williams. Her cohesive vision and clarity of mind inspire student-directed lectures patterned after her lectures. Students unfailingly comment about wanting to be friends with Dr. Williams, while also noting their incredible respect for her as a knowledgeable professional. To give everyone a head start at friendship, I sat down with Dr. Williams recently and asked a few of questions on the mind of the student body.

“A person who knows how to laugh at himself will never cease to be amused.” – Shirley MacLaine

When asked about favorite colors, Dr. Williams responds immediately with, “purple and grey.” She has no preference about the spelling of grey. She believes purple to be a childhood favorite whose endorsement continues since her Blacksburg, Virginia childhood. Dr. Williams later adds burgundy to her list of favorite colors. A more recent appreciation for this color has blossomed alongside growing appreciation for southern hospitality she has discovered in Greenville since her move here from Gainesville, Florida.

If Dr. Williams could be any nerve plexus in the body, she would be the brachial plexus. Eight years ago her mother, Juliann, had a tumor around the left brachial plexus roots. Excision of this tumor left Dr. William’s mom with compromised movement. Dr. Williams would like to be the brachial plexus for her mother, as she is very thoughtful in giving gifts to her family members.

When asked about favorite foods, Dr. Williams emphasizes her preference for salty rather than sweet. She is not a huge fan of ice cream. When she does eat ice cream, Dr. Williams is going to want the high quality vanilla bean kind with flecks of vanilla bean in it. Don’t dare put that ice cream on cake. Dr. Williams does not particularly like cake, and insists that cupcakes only minimize the problem. You could go ahead and put the ice cream on a pie. If it is a blueberry pie, you get extra brownie points. If given a choice, Dr. Williams would prefer eat French fries, dill pickles, black olives, chips, or other salty snack foods.

Dr. Williams also enjoys making and eating sushi. Dr. Andrea Deyrup introduced Dr. Williams to this newer hobby squeezed in around busy teaching and lab schedules. Dr. Williams also enjoys watching movies and television. Her favorite shows on TV right now are Justified, Scandal, Big Bang Theory, and Sherlock on BBC. Dr. Williams does not sit down and watch these shows with pets, as she has no pets at the moment. Instead of pets, Dr. Williams notes that she has lots of plants that her dad, a horticulturist, would be proud of.

When asked about favorite quotes or mantras, Dr. Williams supplied the quotes used as headings for this article. Knowing that I would be unable to accurately convey the paradox of passionate lightheartedness embodied in Dr. Williams, I chose instead to use her favorite quotes to organize this piece as a potential starting point for anyone wanting to learn more.

“A good puzzle, it’s a fair thing. Nobody is lying. It’s very clear, and the problem depends just on you.” – Erno Rubik

Dr. Williams is glad to be involved with solving puzzles inherent to innovation here at the USC School of Medicine Greenville. She enjoys having a voice about in program development and likes being a part of the brainstorming process. Her research experience prepares her well for problem solving and good puzzles. She studies age-related 3D shape changes in the curvature of the bony eye orbits, cheekbones, nasal aperture, and maxillary ridge between populations and the sexes.

This research experience, combined with her past experiences working with medical students, prepares Dr. Williams well for weathering formative processes associated with new medical education. She has very much enjoyed working with our student body, fresh with excited wonder in our first year of medical education. Dr. Williams is particularly satisfied with the open, generous, and positive culture established by our founding first-year class. She sees this culture of collaboration as one of the greatest strengths of our student body, as we work together to solve healthcare puzzles with open-minded considerations of traditional and non-traditional educational approaches. Dr. Shanna Williams believes that our student body can best learn about the body’s structures and functions through these positive faculty-student educational partnerships.