By Cheralyn Barrington, Assistant Layout Editor
When Senior Colleen Shanahan graduates, she will have left a unique imprint on many organizations.
She is an intelligent and talented young woman who has excelled in academic and extracurricular activities throughout her four years at Saint Leo University. Shanahan is an English major with a specialty in creative writing. She is in the honors program, the Sigma Tau Delta English honor society, and the Delta Epsilon Sigma Honor Society. She has made the Dean’s List five times, and passed her junior oral exam, which she jokingly considers to be her greatest achievement. In addition to her impressive academic career at Saint Leo, she has also participated in Quiz Bowl all four years, and has been published in The Sandhill Review for photography and poetry. Shanahan has been the online editor for The Lions’ Pride for two years and speaks highly of her experience.
“I’ve enjoyed [working at the newspaper]with people I’ve known since I came to Saint Leo, the flexibility of the job since I am a commuter, and the ability to enlighten the Saint Leo community with many different genres of news and entertainment stories,” said Shanahan.
Shanahan also belongs to the Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority, and has been Vice President, Treasurer, and Triangle Correspondent for the organization. She is a top contributor to her sorority, and is a big sister to two of her fellow Sigmas. This year she served as a Sigma Rho Chi for sorority recruitment.
“I’ve enjoyed gaining lifetime friends, sisters, and leadership skills that I can use in the future whether it be in the workforce or in daily life,” said Shanahan of her experience in Sigma Sigma Sigma.
After she graduates, Shanahan plans to pursue her Masters of Fine Arts in either creative writing or writing for children and young adults, and holds the possibility for a PhD in the future. She would like to become a professor and teach creative writing and also write in her spare time. Shanahan appreciates her time at Saint Leo and feels her four years have been very beneficial.
“Over the four years, I realized why I was meant to come to this school. The students, faculty, and staff I have met shaped me into the person I am now. My writing has grown significantly, and I have a lot more confidence in it. I’ve also grown personally. I am not as shy as I was during freshman year; I am more outspoken when it comes to things I believe in or need to get done. I have also learned to enjoy myself even when things have been hard. I’m not going to say that things have always been peachy, we all hit bumps in the road, but I’ve come out a better person in the end, both personally and scholastically because of Saint Leo,” Said Shanahan.
Colleen Shanahan will be missed at Saint Leo University, but is wished the best of luck in the future.
