How she got here with Dr. Jennifer Williams

Dr. Jennifer Williams didn’t go to the University of Georgia with the intention of becoming a physical therapist. Far from it. As it turns out, her path to earning a degree in advertising from the prestigious Grady College of Journalism isn’t (and wasn’t) one Jennifer even felt she had chosen for herself. But each step she took along the way helped her get where she is now. 

“At 18-years-old, I had no idea what I wanted to be. You choose a degree and career often from what is familiar to you, or what you’ve seen your family do. At least that was true for the 1990s. I knew I didn’t want to teach, and that was what my mom did. But, if you aren’t exposed to a certain career, how would you know what it is or that it’s what you want to do? And I would never have chosen to be a PT — or been very good at it if I’d started on this path at 18, 19, 20 years old.” 

““I love what I do. I’ve never had a single morning where I woke up and didn’t want to go to work. It pays me back more than I have ever given them.””

When the high school yearbook advisor told Jennifer she’d be a great addition to the staff, she joined. When she was assigned to the advertising team, she excelled with a creative eye for design and the ability to manage a project. So, UGA and advertising seemed a natural fit for the Georgia native.

After graduating from college in 1993, Jennifer began a successful career as an account manager. It paid her well, used her incredible people skills, and put her on an hour-plus long commute daily — each way from home in the distant exo-suburbs to work in leafy Atlanta. 

“I had two children in diapers and was waiting in the parking lot at their daycare when they opened. My mother taught school around the corner, so she could pick up and care for my kids while I fought my way home until about 7:00 pm every night through traffic. While I was climbing the ladder, after nine years, it was time for a more flexible job that would allow me to be around them more.”

That “more flexible” job at a military school turned out to be even more demanding of her nights and weekends and, in the end, she left there to stay at home with her young children for a while. With a kindergartener and pre-schooler, it was a remarkable opportunity to care for her children and her then-ailing mother. 

Many who meet Jennifer assume that her mother’s health struggles were what inspired her path into healthcare. But it was something even closer to home that drove her to a healing profession. 

A bad car accident involving her family changed Jennifer’s life. A truck hit their car, crushed it, and ended up right at Jennifer’s feet. The car was destroyed, and her injuries were extensive enough to require 18 months of physical therapy. While she was there, those people skills began to pay off again as her therapist talked to Jennifer about the new practice they were starting up. Quickly, those conversations turned into Jennifer to set up the business side of the practice — and meeting the PT who would become her physical therapy mentor. 

“He’s one of the best physical therapists I’ve ever worked with. And an amazing person. After working together for a week, it was like we had known each other for a decade. Next to my husband, who I have loved since I was 14, Jeremy is my best friend.”

Jennifer spent three years working in the clinic helping as an aid and at the front desk. It quickly became clear what her new career path would be as she became more and more drawn to the treatment of the patients. Except that without the pre-med pre-reqs, Jennifer would have five years of school ahead of her before she could put PT, DPT after her name.

For those of you working out the math, that makes her 37 when she started her pre-requisite classes, 39 when she started PT school, and 42 when she became a physical therapist. That’s twenty years after she graduated with her first degree. By the time she completed her clinical doctorate through, Jennifer was back working with Jeremy as a colleague and in charge of the clinics they ran as partners. 

Six years later, Dr. Jennifer Williams is the owner of two physical therapy practices. Her husband's savvy financial planning made it possible for her to invest when the timing was right. She now works with lower extremity amputees, older patients who dream of simply walking their dogs again, and competition cheerleaders who just want to be back on the squad their last year in high school. Her medical training also helped to save her daughter, Madison, from further physical damage when brain tumor symptoms suddenly manifested one night. Madison was in her teens at the time.

Dr. Williams has become part of her community and every twist on the road brought her there. 

“I love what I do. I’ve never had a single morning where I woke up and didn’t want to go to work. It pays me back more than I have ever given them.”

Her advice for those looking to find their way to their own path? 

“Take a step. You’ll be exactly where you are supposed to be with each one, even if God or the universe hasn’t told you what that means yet.”