Daughter, granddaughters to receive degrees alongside grandmother at May commencement

Family pursuing degrees together speak about their dedication to God, family and education

Keely Hagan | 615-966-6491  |  04/04/2023

Four women from three generations of the Williams family will receive advanced degrees at the Lipscomb University commencement ceremony on May 6, bringing the number of college degrees they will have received between the four of them to 11.

Forrestine White Williams will receive her Master of Divinity, her daughter Shameka D. Williams will receive a Master of Education, and her granddaughters Kyrionna M. Golliday and Kristen Alexandrea Williams will both earn a Master of Science in Biomolecular Science.

The grandmother of the family, Forrestine Williams, 71, is receiving her fourth college degree 47 years after earning her first, a B.S. in business education, at Tennessee State University in 1976. She also has a Master of Public Administration and a Doctor of Education Degree.

“I just kept going through the years,” says Forrestine Williams, who with her husband, Arthur, raised four daughters and is now blessed with a close knit family that includes 12 grandchildren and two great grandchildren. She explains, “after we raised our children, I got my Ed.D. and after retirement from the State of Tennessee, Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro in 2010, there was a call of God in my life in 2017.” Laughing, she says, “I was sort of upset at first and talked to my pastor about it. He asked me what I thought about Moses, Abraham, etcetera. So, I’m OK with it now and I’m seeking to be led by God for whatever he has for me, for the rest of my life.”

After receiving her Master of Divinity, Forrestine Williams hopes to work with children to serve them and to better their lives. “I had a strong, lingering desire to pursue an education that will enable me to grow in spiritual knowledge, wisdom and maturity and to serve humankind in what I consider to be an area of extreme need–violence and delinquency among youth.”

Her daughter, Shameka Williams, 40, also has a heart for working with children. “I think it’s something my parents instilled in me,” she says. “They are always trying to help others and they taught us to look for ways to help others.”

She found that opportunity when she began substitute teaching as a working mother. She had a degree in psychology but substitute teaching worked well for her while she was raising her three children. “It was a good experience. I enjoyed my rapport with teachers and serving children so with my mother’s encouragement I decided to make it my career,” she says. 

Golliday, 26, and Alex Williams, 23, are both applying to medical schools. Golliday will pursue her M.D.-Ph.D. degrees in order to research and teach with a focus on better serving minority communities as an obstetrician gynecologist. Alex Williams will pursue her M.D. to become a primary care physician where she hopes to help solve many health inequalities by opening clinics to underserved neighborhoods.

“Without the support of our grandparents we would not be where we are today,” says Golliday. “What Alex and I are trying to do is hard. It’s important to have a family that will support you mentally, financially and spiritually. What my grandma does for us in all of those areas makes a world of difference. When times get tough, I call her and she’ll pray about this or pray about that for me. You know, she'll pray about anything for me. And I love that about her.”

Alex Williams, who lives with her grandparents in Nashville, agrees with Golliday. “Every morning before we leave the house we say a prayer,” she says. “Even if I’m only going down the street, we pray together. I see Christ moving in her life–he’s such a huge part of her life and who she is.”

For these four women who are immensely proud and supportive of one another, they recognize what a special moment they will share on May 6 when together they receive their degrees from the same university, in the same ceremony.