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Graduate defined as ‘Mazerrati brain in 5' frame’ by Heather Murphy Public Relations Most children would balk at the idea of listening to Kaplan test-taking tips in the car. Those same children would also declare mutiny if “ER” was substituted for cartoons.     But not 4-year-old Tony Dozier. He wants to be a doctor, just like his mom.    “He met Candace Gillespie (student affairs director in the College of Medicine) and told her that he’d see her in 18 years,” said Shéne Dozier, College of Medicine graduate and Tony’s mom. “He feels like he’s graduating too. He has a lab coat that says ‘Dr. Tony’ and he’s the first one to tell you he’s going to be a surgeon.”    With Dr. Shéne Dozier are parents, Corbin and Donna, son, Tony, and daughter, Eden. Shéne’s daughter, Eden Dozier, 12, was supportive of mom’s choice to go to medical school but decided that medicine wasn’t for her when she heard mom’s tales of gross anatomy. “I have such wonderful children. They’ve never been resentful of my going back to school. They come first and they know that,” Shéne said.    Born in Maryland, Shéne moved with her family to Pawley’s Island in 1979 and has considered herself a local ever since. Currently living with her mother and stepfather, Shéne is quick to point out that the road to graduation wouldn’t have been possible to navigate without her faith and her mom.     “I’ve done a whole lot of praying since day one,” she admits. “I must have a guardian angel the size of Dallas.”    Shéne’s quick wit and ability to “multi-task” led to her stepfather, Corbin, dubbing her “a Mazerrati brain in a 5 foot frame going Mach 4.”     A typical school day for Shéne began three hours before leaving the house with getting herself dressed and organized. Getting the kids bathed, dressed and ready was the next step. Her parents would get Eden to school while Shéne buckled Tony into the car for the hour- and-a-half ride to his Mount Pleasant daycare. Shéne would then head to school.     When not at MUSC, she was working at her parents’ company, Corbin Dozier Designs. She’d spend the evenings with her children and then hit the books when they went to sleep.     “When you have two kids, homework, classes, driving to and from Charleston, and work, it doesn’t leave you with a whole lot of time for eating and sleeping,” said Shéne’s mom. “There are lots of ups and downs for someone in medical school. I  just kept reminding her that she had to keep going because after it was all over, becoming a physician was the only way she was going to be able to pay off those student loans,” she chuckled.    “My mother is unreal. The kids think the sun rises and sets with her head,” Shéne said. “She has bailed me out so many times, like when I was running late or found out I was on-call the first night of a rotation.”    But a mother’s love and support will only get you so far. You have to have that “something” to make it through medical school.    Shéne spent several years trying a variety of professions, including singing and riding horses at the Dixie Stampede and playing a countess at Medieval Times in Myrtle Beach. She even owned her own construction company.    With a repertoire like that, how did Dozier decide that medicine was her career soulmate?    “I had always decided that I would go back to school at some point,” Dozier said. “To be honest, I didn’t think a medical school would want a mom for a student. I had two professors in undergrad school that insisted I take the MCAT and see if I could do well on it. I did well enough to get into MUSC and quite frankly was shocked to have gotten in. Since then 99 percent of the faculty and staff have been supportive and absolutely wonderful.”     Love of family and her children seems to fuel her love of obstetrics, as she believes that her path will lead her to be an OB/GYN. “I love working in high-risk OB, and it’s my favorite so far, but I think I’ll just have to wait and see. I’ve learned that you can’t take yourself too seriously, you have to be flexible and realize that you are going to make mistakes,” she said.    “Shéne was a terrific student,” Roger Newman, M.D., OB/GYN director. “She's very dedicated to women's health and has overcome adversity in all aspects of life to become a true inspiration to physicians and classmates alike.”    “You have to do what you love. Because I was and am so excited about OB, it makes everything so much easier to handle. I know being a physician is what I really want. Investing your heart in something really does make all the difference,” Shéne said.    The next chapter for Shéne and her children involves a move to Orlando  to begin a residency at Orlando Regional Medical Center. Are Eden and Tony okay with it?    “I think it’s wonderful,” Eden said. “DisneyWorld!” Things that I couldn’t have made it through MUSC without: My parents; my children; God; chocolate; my Jeep Cherokee; my cell phone; a sense of humor.                                                          —Dr. Shéne Dozier     Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to petersnd@musc.edu or catalyst@musc.edu. 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