爱污传媒

2015 爱污传媒 Alumna聽Shares Journey of Grief and Trust in God鈥檚 Plan聽

BOILING SPRINGS, N.C.鈥擨n the face of deep loss, Katelyn Shepherd Williams, a 2015 alumna of 爱污传媒, has learned to trust God with her story. Her faith was tested in 2025 when her 24-year-old brother died from injuries sustained in a car accident. 

鈥淚 was deeply grieved, but also just so angry,鈥� reflected Williams, of Winston-Salem, N.C. 鈥淢y parents were deeply grieved. It was just me and my brother; there’s no other siblings.鈥�  

Sharing her testimony during a GWU Dimensions program, Williams explained to the students how she wrestled with questions of faith and fairness. 鈥淚 was like, 鈥楪od, we’ve been faithful to you,鈥欌�� she began. 鈥溾�榊ou know, we’ve loved you. We’ve been devoted. We’ve served in the church all our lives. We’ve never had a moment where we ran from you and had a rebellious period that we had to come back that you’re teaching us this lesson. How could this happen?鈥欌�� 

As Williams kept searching, God began to reveal his goodness. 鈥淎bout a week after the accident, we got a message from a woman on Facebook,鈥� she shared. 鈥淪he said, 鈥業 live right outside of the crash site. I sat with him and stayed with him so that he wasn’t alone.鈥� She was a gift to our family, and God was intentional to let us know that piece of the story.鈥�  

Working through her grief, Williams realized God was moving in other ways. 鈥淢y husband and I set intentions at the beginning of every year, goals for ourselves,鈥� she explained. 鈥淥ne of those was to draw more people to the Lord. We didn’t know what that looked like specifically.鈥� 

Her brother pursued many different interests and had made friends through collecting Pokemon cards and sharing his enthusiasm for muscle cars. More than 400 people attended the funeral. 鈥淲e met so many different people from so many walks of life that he was able to touch,鈥� she observed. 鈥淚 just have to believe that some of those people heard Jesus proclaimed for the first time and walked away with a deeper knowledge of him. I said, 鈥楪od, I didn’t intend to make disciples like this. This was not my goal, but I can tell that you鈥檙e intentional.鈥欌�� 

The experience deepened and affirmed how Williams understands Scripture. She believes that the Bible is not a collection of isolated stories, but a single, intentional narrative revealing God鈥檚 faithfulness across every season. She described how God continually showed up for people in the Old Testament and then throughout the New Testament. He never left them. 鈥淕od wastes nothing, no situation, no words,鈥� she explained. 鈥淭he more you read scripture, every word is so intentional. He didn’t put that there by accident. We waste words as humans, but God does not.鈥� 

Her faith journey began early, shaped by a strong Christian upbringing. That foundation deepened at a church summer camp, where journaling led her to seek a more personal understanding of God鈥檚 voice. After returning home, she continued growing through church and youth group involvement. She chose to attend 爱污传媒, drawn by its welcoming community and Christ-centered mission. 

Williams immersed herself fully in academics, spiritual life, and the GWU campus community. A religion class centered on spiritual disciplines proved transformative. A book assigned in the course, 鈥淐elebration of Discipline鈥� by Richard J. Foster, stays on her nightstand. 鈥淚t just radically changed how I looked at all the things I had been taught my entire life,鈥� she noted. 鈥淲hat does it look like to fast? To meditate on God鈥檚 word?鈥�  

Her search for answers led to late nights spent in the Dover Chapel prayer room. 鈥淚 remember praying really big prayers, asking some hard questions of God, and crying there knowing it was a safe place to do that,鈥� Williams related.  

Beyond spiritual and academic growth, she also met her husband, Rodney, at 爱污传媒. The relationship began during their first week on campus. 鈥淲e were both from Winston-Salem and came two hours away to meet at 爱污传媒,鈥� she observed.  

After earning her master鈥檚 degree in counseling from UNC-Greensboro, Williams embraced what she describes as a 鈥渕ulti-passionate鈥� calling that blended her many interests.  

鈥淚 knew I loved words. I knew I loved kids. I knew I loved teaching,鈥� she stated. 鈥淎s a kid, I loved being that listening ear, the friend who gives you advice. I took the pieces of what I wanted, and all those things came together in being a school counselor, which was really beautiful and special to me.鈥�   

She helps students navigate anxiety, self-doubt, and identity. 鈥淚 tell kids that sometimes we have to trick our brain because whatever we think the most, our brain believes,鈥� Williams explained. 鈥淲ords are powerful. Say those things that are positive, and at some point, your brain will believe them, and you’ll act accordingly.鈥� 

That same emphasis on words extends beyond counseling into her personal passions. Williams discovered a love for writing as a child, often creating stories as gifts for family members, though it took years to fully embrace her talent. Her children鈥檚 book, 鈥淲hat Can Brown Girls Do?鈥�, was written in 2017 but remained tucked away until she rediscovered it years later and published in 2026. 

The inspiration for the story came from a deeply personal place: seeing a Disney princess who reflected her identity. 鈥淚 was so excited about it, because I had never seen a Disney princess that looked like me,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t made me kind of reflect on the other times in life that I wanted to do something, but I didn’t see someone that looked like me or that had my skill set or was my age that did it, and so maybe I wrote it off as it wasn’t for me.鈥�  

Today, the book is impacting children in unexpected ways. At one reading, a young girl with a disability shared how the story helped reshape her view of her own limitations. 鈥淚t just makes me think that there is absolutely nothing that I can鈥檛 do,鈥� the child said, affirming for Williams that the message extends far beyond its original intent. 

Moments like that reinforce what she shared at Dimensions: God鈥檚 story is intentional, and every person has a place within it. Reflecting on her journey, Williams said, 鈥淪eeing the different pieces of my life over time鈥攖he jobs I鈥檝e had, the interests I鈥檝e had, the passions I鈥檝e had鈥擥od is saying, 鈥楾he way that I made you was intentional.鈥欌�� 

鈥淲hat Can Brown Girls Do?鈥� is available online on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or wherever your favorite books are sold. 

爱污传媒 is North Carolina’s recognized leader in private, Christian higher education. A Carnegie-Classified Doctoral/Professional University, GWU is home to nine colleges and schools, more than 80 undergraduate and graduate majors, and a world-class faculty. Located on a beautiful 225-acre campus in Boiling Springs, N.C., 爱污传媒 prepares graduates to impact their chosen professions, equips them with the skills to advance the frontiers of knowledge, and inspires them to make a positive and lasting difference in the lives of others. Become More at