Meet the Student Ambassadors: Shannon Gibson

The English Department has launched a new Student Ambassador program under the direction of Academic Department Coordinator Nicole Despain. Nicole says, “I am working with the ambassadors to build a community where students feel welcome, supported, and heard. They’re bringing their own experiences and ideas to the table, and we’re bringing students together, opening doors to opportunities, and making room for the unexpected connections that can turn ‘I’m just here for class’ into ‘There are my people.’ That’s the kind of community I’m excited to help build.”

Shannon Gibson is one of these new ambassadors. She is an English major with an emphasis in Literature and is currently in her senior year. While she has always loved the topics within English and Literature, she mentions how she knew this was the right program for her after spending time with the faculty and the students within the department.

“I had a professor give me the advice once that the people around you in your major classes are the kind of people you’ll work with one day. That really stuck with me and when I took my first upper division English class, it just clicked that this is the kind of community I wanted to be a part of,” Shannon reflects.

For this reason, Shannon decided to apply for the ambassador position in hopes of making more positive contributions to the learning community that we have. With this position, Shannon notes, “I am hoping to help plan events that help everyone in the English Department feel more connected to each other and I want to help encourage new students to join our awesome program.”

Some fun facts about Shannon are that she has three minors: Film Studies, Folklore, and Japanese. She loves theme parks and has been to forty-six concerts, which mostly consisted of K-pop.

Shannon is excited to be a part of this new program and to help develop the community even more. She explains, “My life has been changed in the best way by being an English major and if I can be a part of that for other people, I will be satisfied.”