by Mary Spiller
November 22, 2025
Dr. Williams has constructed a profession that blends rigorous analysis, schooling, and an unwavering dedication to increasing illustration in her discipline.
When Dr. RoDina L. Williams appears to be like again on her educational beginnings at Illinois State College, she recollects a spot that nurtured her ambition and helped outline her function. In an interview with Illinois State College on Nov. 19, Williams opened up about her journey. Now acknowledged as the primary Black particular person in Illinois to earn a Doctorate in Medical Laboratory Science (DCLS), Williams has constructed a profession that blends rigorous analysis, schooling, and an unwavering dedication to increasing illustration in her discipline.
“Illinois State actually formed who I’m as an individual,” she stated. “It’s the place I found my ardour and love for analysis, appreciated the significance of mentorship, and gained the self-assurance to intention increased than I beforehand thought I may.”
Williams started her journey as a switch scholar, drawn to the college’s sturdy kinesiology program and the regular help she felt from college. The sense of group remained so highly effective that she later returned to finish a second bachelor’s diploma in medical laboratory science. “I discovered the identical sense of group and function once I returned,” she recalled. “That fidelity stated rather a lot about the kind of place ISU is.”
All through her research, college members performed a pivotal function in shaping her educational path. She credit Dr. Pete Smith from the College of Kinesiology and Recreation as the primary particular person to introduce her to formal analysis. Dr. Dale Brown, she stated, helped her perceive how connecting classes to lived experiences made studying “simpler to study and extra memorable.” She even jokes that she “borrowed” his instructing type as a result of it resonated along with her and her college students.
Her transition into medical laboratory science supplied one other layer of mentorship. Williams says Dr. Lori Woeste helped her grasp the interconnectedness of the self-discipline’s many subspecialties. And Dr. Beverly Barham, a long-standing mentor, frequently inspired her to pursue alternatives that pushed her ahead within the discipline.
Attaining her DCLS diploma turned each a milestone and a accountability. “It means rather a lot to me to be the primary Black particular person in Illinois to obtain a doctorate in medical laboratory science,” she stated. She emphasizes that the achievement goes past private accomplishment—it’s about making area for younger scientists who not often see themselves mirrored in laboratory medication. “There are nonetheless only a few Black professionals, and that lack of illustration could make it exhausting for college kids of shade to see themselves within the discipline. So, for me, incomes this diploma was about opening doorways and displaying what is feasible.”
Williams sees mentorship as central to her mission. “My success will not be solely a mirrored image of my exhausting work but additionally a testomony to the facility of illustration in a discipline the place professionals of shade stay considerably underrepresented,” she stated. Her involvement with the Black Colleagues Affiliation at Illinois State is a method she continues to provide again.
Exterior her educational {and professional} duties, she strives for stability as a scholar, mom, and advocate. “I’ve realized that stability doesn’t all the time imply all the pieces is completely even; it means being current the place I’m,” she stated. Her son, Kien John, retains that perspective grounded. She laughs that her household reminds her she doesn’t all the time need to be “Dr. Williams”—generally she merely must be RoDina.
Right now, Williams leads medical laboratory packages at Metropolis Schools of Chicago, overseeing academic, medical, and administrative operations. Requested to summarize her path, she selected three phrases: “Difficult, rewarding, honored.” And for her, Illinois State stays a cornerstone of that journey—a spot that formed her, supported her, and set the stage for all the pieces that adopted.
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