Shannon has chosen to devote her life and professional career toward serving and protecting the people of our communities. As such, Shannon has been a proud member of the law enforcement field since 2011. Her distinguished career in law enforcement commenced as a patrol officer. While serving in an impeccable manner, Shannon began to yearn for a higher level of responsibility toward the service and protection of her community. Therefore, Shannon decided to try out for the department’s Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team. While acknowledging that the SWAT team was responsible for performing the most challenging and dangerous of police activities, Shannon embraced the the grueling try-out, as well as the subsequent challenge of the tasks that would certainly follow upon her acceptance to the team. As a result of her unwavering determination, Shannon’s try-out was successful; Shannon became the second female member of her department’s SWAT team.
In addition to her SWAT team responsibilities, Shannon sought even higher levels of responsibility and decided to seek promotion from patrol officer to detective. For this promotion, Shannon had to compete with ten of her peers, all of which were senior in tenure. Nevertheless, because of Shannon’s extensive knowledge and skill, she once again prevailed and was one of only two department members promoted to detective. Desiring even more responsibility and impact toward serving and protecting her community, Shannon decided to seek yet another promotion, this time to the rank of police corporal. This promotion would require that she pass a rigorous written examination. After intense study and preparation, Shannon scored a 96 percent on the exam, and was promoted to the rank of police corporal, which is her current rank.
Along with Shannon’s commendable work history and accomplishments, Shannon has also partaken in various mentorship and leadership efforts. Specifically, Shannon started a mentorship program of her own for troubled students. Shannon’s initiative for starting a mentorship program stemmed from a particular member of her community she had encountered while serving as a patrol officer who happened to be, by Shannon’s account, a spunky twelve-year-old girl who had no trust whatsoever in law enforcement. A self-proclaimed animal lover and owner, Shannon’s mentorship program allowed for her to meet with local students in the community and mentor them using her animals, which include horses, chickens, and dogs. She would impart the value of responsibility to the students by showing and teaching them how to care for the various animals. Shannon’s creative approach toward mentorship led to positive feedback from every student. Additionally, Shannon was eventually able to break through to this 12-year-old girl and establish a strong rapport with her that still exists to this very day!
As a first for her community and department, Shannon pioneered and masterfully organized the St. Baldrick’s Foundation Shave Fest. The objective of this first-time event was to raise awareness for childhood cancer research. The event was a huge success as it raised over $24,000 and received an outstanding response from the community. Given the astounding success of this high impact event, Shannon’s department decided to continue hosting the event on an annual basis, with Shannon serving as an event consultant to members of her department each year. Shannon has truly excelled as a law enforcement professional, a Barry University scholar, and a community leader. She is certainly most deserving of the 2019 PACE Dean’s Award honor.