“Dr. Will in the Ville” is On Air

Dr. Mary Beth Williams, vice president of student affairs, is immersing herself in the student experience by hosting her own college radio show.

The show, "Dr. Will in the Ville," is live on air every Monday from 12-1 p.m. on WIXQ 91.7 FM. Listeners can also tune in online. With a focus on blues, Williams is sharing her passion for music and love for public radio.

The show features both classic and new songs and artists in an attempt to share Williams' passion with an audience that may not be familiar with blues. This includes traditional blues artists like Son House, Buddy Guy and Lightnin' Hopkins, alongside current artists like Samantha Fish and Shemekia Copeland. "I don't know that anyone in South-Central Pennsylvania is paying attention to some of the amazing blues artists today," says Williams.

Williams says she finds inspiration for her weekly shows through something that has happened to her recently or conversations with others. "It depends on the conversations that I have throughout the week with people who've listened to the show," she says. "Then I build it throughout the week based on a theme."

Williams was surrounded by music from a young age by having a family full of musicians. Growing up in the south, there was an emphasis on religious gospel music. "I don't remember a time in my life when there wasn't some sort of gospel music being played in the house," says Williams. When she moved to Memphis and began college, Williams discovered her love of blues, drawn to the honesty and rawness that emits from it. "It's a genre that I've always connected with because it's so real," she says. "It's so passionate."

This isn't Williams' first experience hosting a college radio show. While working on her Ph.D, Williams was a radio show host at the University of Southern Mississippi, where she worked. "It was just a really great experience," says Williams. Although, her experience so far with WIXQ has been different than that of her previous show. "WIXQ really allows their DJs to show their personalities through their shows," she says. Her previous station was more rigid with their expectations of DJs and shows. "We can have a name if we want, we can have a theme, we can talk," says Williams regarding WIXQ.

Williams hopes to continue her show throughout the summer but otherwise is prepared to carry it on during the spring and fall semesters moving forward. "So long as WIXQ will let me be a DJ, I will be one," she says. Williams regards hosting a radio show as an outlet for her personal passions of work and likes that college radio allows students the same. "I really love college radio because I think it allows students, who may not go into any kind of music career, to find a passion like me," she says.

More information about WIXQ can be found here. More information about "Dr. Will in the Ville" and Williams' other endeavors at Millersville can be found on her Instagram.