For more than 20 years, Shannon Williams tended to the injured and potentially dying patients in DeKalb and Gwinnett counties as a firefighter and paramedic. Then, the Cumming, Georgia, resident decided to make a professional change.
"I wanted to spend more time with patients," Williams said. "I wanted to learn about them and help educate them about their health."
Williams enrolled in the nursing program at the University of North Georgia (UNG). He started out as a part-time student in 2013, which enabled him to continue working. In fall 2017, he became a full-time student and reaped the benefits, including joining nursing organizations and becoming a leader on campus.
That same year, Williams attended a Georgia Association of Nursing Students (GANS) conference and was elected to serve as the chairman of the Council of School Presidents (COSP) for GANS. There, the non-traditional student became the first UNG student to be elected to a state nursing organization, said Patti Simmons, assistant professor of nursing and Bachelor of Science in Nursing program coordinator at UNG's Gainesville Campus. But Williams didn't want the job at first.
"I was not one of the students who wanted to run for this position," he said. "I was nominated, and I did not accept the nomination."
As a full-time UNG student and a part-time paramedic at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, he knew it would equal less free time for his personal life.
"My wife and my professors encouraged me to do it," he said.
He accepted the nomination the next day and won.
"Being the first UNG student on the GANS state board, I hope to lead by example … and to get more UNG students to run for statewide offices," Williams said.
During his time as chairman, he made his mark. In spring 2018, Williams petitioned GANS to change a couple of elements to its annual summer conference. His first suggestion was to make the conference a single-day event instead of a weekend retreat. His second request was for a school with a nursing program to host it.
Several schools such as Emory University, Georgia Gwinnett College and Mercer University volunteered to host the annual conference. Williams had a different idea.
"I suggested that we hold it at a school without such a heavy presence on the state nursing board so we can attract other schools," he said. "We could gather some new schools like Berry College, Lanier Tech and Athens Tech. They hadn't had a presence on the state nursing board before, but this conference attracted them and others."
Williams suggested UNG, which was accepted and approved. It marked a first for UNG's nursing group and program.
The annual GANS conference was well-received the first weekend in June. Williams said the conference had about 65 students.
"That's the largest number of students who have showed up compared to previous years," he said.
In fact, GANS nursing advisers deemed it such a success that Williams was asked to write a paper for the national nursing student associations.
"They wanted me to share with other states how they can make changes to a mid-year conference to have better turnout and impact students more with a better outlook on leadership," Williams said.
Each day Williams looked toward his future. He finished his term as chairman in October and as nursing class president in December 2018 when he graduated.
"My most favorite part of the day was when I woke up and marked a day off the calendar and saw my profession go from a dream to a reality," he said.
Shannon Williams
- Lives in Cumming, Georgia
- Graduated in December 2018
