• M.A., Seton Hall University 2011, Diplomacy and International Relations
• B.A., State University of New York at Buffalo 2008, Political Science

Shannon’s interests have always pushed her to explore the unfamiliar. Completing her undergraduate degree in political science, she pursued the next step in her education, which included a master’s degree in diplomacy and international relations from Seton Hall University. The unique history and rich culture of the Middle East, as well as her regional courses, further instilled a desire for continued studies in an area that had fascinated her since adolescence. In order to better enhance her understanding of the region, she studied at the American University in Cairo for a semester. While in Egypt, she continued learning Arabic and also gained an internship through an Italian non-governmental organization working to improve literacy in the rural areas surrounding Cairo. After finishing her graduate program and working within international business for two years, she spent a year teaching university level English to female students in Saudi Arabia. This time in Riyadh not only gave her useful teaching experience, but also provided the opportunities to further develop her Arabic language skills, gain tremendous insight into the culture as a whole, and assisted her in narrowing her research interests. Both the social and academic sides of these experiences in Egypt and Saudi Arabia worked to solidify her determination to continue her studies and interaction with the Middle East. Since the summer of 2015, she has held a professorship at Southern Adventist University near Chattanooga, Tennessee where she has been charged with developing one new major and revising an existing program on campus while also benefiting from carrying a customary academic teaching load in a variety of internationally-themed courses. Shannon’s time teaching in the U.S. has also provided two opportunities to co-lead student tours abroad to Egypt and Mexico, where she was given the privilege of watching student engagement move beyond the traditional classroom and its contents to the wider world and its population.

Shannon’s interests are regionally particular to North Africa and the Middle East with specific emphasis placed on international security, political stability, authoritarianism, and non-state actors.