Nazareth welcomes Guidance Intern Sara Shannon. She is excited to get to know the students and her colleagues in the Guidance Department and her bubbly and enthusiastic personality make her someone you’ll want to get to know, too.

When Shannon was an undergraduate at the University of Illinois, she was a music major and thought she’d work in the music industry, but her real passion was working with people. Plans change, and Shannon is currently getting her Master’s Degree in school counseling at Lewis University. 

Shannon moved to Tennessee for seven years after college because she was drawn to the booming music industry and she wanted to live someplace different than Illinois, which is where she had lived all of her life. She loves country music and Tennessee was perfect for her considering that Nashville is the capital of the country music world.

Shannon’s first career in the music industry was interesting, but she said her real passion was seeing students every day when she was coaching volleyball. With that experience, she started to fall in love with the school environment. 

Shannon was initially attracted to the “family oriented atmosphere” at Naz, and the great guidance department. She also loves that Nazareth places a lot of emphasis on extracurriculars, and sports. 

What especially drew her to guidance was the fact that by being a counselor you can help students with everything in their life. Shannon values that as a counselor, one can work with students on all aspects of their high school journey: personal life, academics, college applications, sports and more. 

Her favorite part of the job so far is meeting new students of different backgrounds. Shannon has learned the importance of being a counselor especially with helping out new students. Every day, she meets new students, helps out in the tutoring center, and researches colleges. 

In her free time, Shannon enjoys playing volleyball, and cooking. She played volleyball through high school and enjoys coaching the sport as well. Additionally, she likes to hike, especially in the Grand Canyon. One day she hopes to visit Glacier National Park in Montana, because she loves the scenery.

Shannon also recently started to crochet. She learned the skill from YouTube videos and from her mother who crochets. Some other tasks she hopes to accomplish are finishing her masters degree and learning to snowboard. 

Although Shannon doesn’t know her plans after her internship at Naz, the community is thrilled to have her for now. She is a great addition to Naz and everyone is looking forward to working with her.