In college, I cheered at the University of Houston for three years before trying out for the Houston Texans. I was proudly a Houston Texans Cheerleader from 2013-2015. During my time on the team, I was also coaching at a competitive cheer gym, while pursuing my dream to become a News Anchor. I interned with KHOU Channel 11, but soon after moved out of the city. After moving, I knew I was unable to follow my dreams. It was hard because I never pictured myself doing anything else.
After leaving coaching and retiring from the Texans, I realized that I was missing a big part of me. For so many years, I had the opportunity to impact a significant amount of people through the Spirit of Houston, the Texans organization and be a vital part in the community. I stood behind an organization, our causes that I was so passionate about and shared that with others. I inspired my students to follow their dreams, as I followed mine. As a coach, I was known for making a difference in my students' lives not only the gym, but in other areas of their life as well.
Through that, I quickly realized becoming a teacher would fill my bucket again. I found so much passion in making a difference in kids' lives in the classroom like I did in the gym. I could impact the community like I did while with HTC by building a community within our campus and district. I then became a First Grade Teacher and have been teaching for the past five years. I am self-contained, meaning I teach all subjects. During one of the most difficult times that our world has seen, my second year of teaching was far from easy. My students needed support more than ever. I grew significantly from the challenges I faced during that time. As team lead, I'm so thankful for my teammates because they have helped me grow as a leader, showed support and have trusted me along the way. I was voted Teacher of the Year for the 2022-2023 school year. This award is by far one of my most meaningful and rewarding accomplishments, alongside the feeling of being announced as a member of the Houston Texans Cheerleaders. So much hard work and passion behind such huge accomplishments.
I'm so thankful to wake up and love what I do every day. My district has a huge impact on my positive outlook on my career and I'm very grateful to be a part of the Magnolia ISD family. My initiative is to spread passion and build trust in our education system for families and other educators in a time that it's needed most. I wholeheartedly believe that having passion, knowing your purpose and having an intentional process is the key to making sure all students reach success. From a leader on the sidelines to a leader in the classroom, I'm always looking for ways to motivate others to believe in what they do.
My favorite part about my job is that I get to continue to leave a lasting impact on students and remind them that I'm forever their biggest cheerleader. I'm looking forward to redefining teaching in a positive way to inspire other educators in finding their "why" and never losing their belief or passion behind what they do. If we teach with passion, our students will find passion in what we are teaching!
-HTC Alumna Shannon
