WMSURE Alumna Spotlight: Shianne Randolph '21
About Shianne
Shianne is a first-year Law Student (1L): 1L Representative for Black Law Students Association (BLSA). She’s also part of the Moot Court Team at William & Mary.
Shianne is a past recipient of WMSURE full-tuition scholarship, and she’s grateful for all the ways in which WMSURE has supported her academic journey by providing academic support, social events, and even financial assistance. In addition, Shianne says WMSURE has been a paramount structure in helping her develop a supportive community on campus.
Passion For Dance
When Shianne is not hitting her Law books, she spends her time in her other passion - dance! In fact, during her sophomore year of college, Shianne traveled to Cape Town, South to be part of the AfricaDance and Movement Exchange Study Abroad. In addition, she was also a recipient of the Benjamin Gilman International Scholarship and a WMSURE grant to cover expenses of her study abroad program. During the program, she and other W&M students danced with JazzArt, a studio in Cape Town, and volunteered in Khayelitsha, a South African township.
Life Today
Shianne graduated in 2021 and started Law School in 2022. She advises students to be flexible and expose themselves to opportunities even if they don't think they're interested in them. She also recommends students to and ask questions. She says: “Everyone is just as confused as you.”
For those students thinking about going to grad school, she offers the following piece of advice: “My advice is to take a gap year. In college, It's easy to get comfortable with a singular plan and not deviate from that plan (less we risk obtaining the ever-precious bachelor's degree). But after you receive the degree that you worked so hard for, you will no longer be a student. After finishing high school and going to college immediately after, taking a gap year after college graduation was beneficial because I learned who I was outside of being a student. I was able to restore and pursue interests that I truly enjoyed. I discovered that I didn't like the things I used to and had instead picked up new hobbies. Taking a gap year gave me time to process my next steps in life. There can be a lot of pressure to act immediately after graduation, but don't give in to the pressure. Always do what you want to do. It's okay to take some time to figure out what that is.”
