• A superior all-round athlete who combined playing and coaching with outstanding academic achievement.
• Studied medicine at the University of Alberta from 1927-1930, and during his first two years, coached both the men's and women's basketball teams while actively participating on three Golden Bears teams; he then transferred to McGill University where he completed his medical degree.
• Winner of the 1928 Western Intercollegiate Basketball scoring title.
• The University's Department of Surgery established the Dr. William A. Shandro Award for Teaching Excellence in Clinical Surgery in his honour, an award presented annually to a faculty member.
• Named the Alberta Medical Association's Outstanding Physician in 1988, he practiced general medicine, surgery, and urology in Edmonton for more than 40 years.

Bill Shandro was one of the best all-round athletes in the history of the University of Alberta. He was also one of its most dedicated students. Bill accelerated through high school and graduated at 17 years of age but because the University of Alberta had a minimum age rule of 18 at the time. he attended Camrose Normal School prior to beginning studies in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Alberta.

When not studying, he found time to excell at basketball, hockey, and rugby as well as coaching. From 1927 to 1929, Bill coached both the men's and women's varsity basketball teams. This was particularly demanding for a student in the Faculty of Medicine. One highlight of his varied career at the University of Alberta was winning the Western Intercollegiate basketball scoring title in 1928. In the three years that he attended the University of Alberta from 1927 to 1930, he was an integral part of four teams while maintaining a high academic standing.

In 1930, Bill left the University of Alberta to continue medical studies at McGill University in Montreal. Originally from Shandro, Alberta, he set up a medical practice in Edmonton after graduating from McGill.