DreamChaser | Shannon Chisholm Perez
General Information
Name: Shannon Perez
Pronouns: She/Her
Age: 38
Job Title/Company: Ivy Collegiate Academy
Education Background (if any): BA British Literature (University of South Florida), MAT English Education (University of South Florida), MEd (Capella University), EdD Leadership and Learning in organizations.
In-depth Questions
1. Tell us a little about who you are.
I’m a native Floridian, mom, wife, and lover of learning who decided eleven years ago that I wanted “adventure in the great wide, somewhere” and it led me to teaching in Taiwan.
2. What sparked your interest in starting your business(es)?
I graduated college at 21 with a degree in English, planning to go to law school, but wasn’t ready to jump back into studying just yet. My local school district was hiring for teachers and on a whim I applied. It was the best paying option, so I took it with no idea how far in over my head I was. Shortly after getting in the room at a Title 1 school, I applied for graduate school so I could learn what to do. It wasn’t as easy as showing up and knowing the material. Teaching is truly a craft. It took me a little while to get adjusted and for me to set up my boundaries, but I knew it was where I was supposed to be and I’ve never looked back. I’m 17 years in with zero regrets.
3. If applicable, tell us about your full-time job and/or any side hustles you might have.
What side hustle don’t I have! Most of them are volunteering opportunities where I offer editing services. I help college bound students edit essays so they can be clear in what they are trying to say. I have worked for a temple, short-term, to help them edit their promotional materials. I have consulted on curriculum building projects. I love helping where I can and any free time I have, that’s how I spend it.
4. Who are you most influenced by?
Honestly, my mom and dad. I know it sounds cliche, but they have worked so hard their entire lives. They have built a business that is thriving and have never forgotten where they came from. They are always giving back to their community financially and through volunteering. Despite their successes, they’ve always stayed humble and I appreciate that!
5. What was your first job and how long did you hold that position?
My first job ever was working at a dry cleaners. My mom would drop me off and all alone, I would tag and process the newly dropped off clothing as well as sort, bag and hang up all of the recently cleaned clothing. It was a great first job where the owners really trusted me to be self reliant and responsible. It was a great gateway into leadership, which is where I have ultimately found myself.
““ It’s okay to not be able to do it on your own. Being part of a supportive community and learning from your failures is what makes the experience impactful in the end. ””
6. Can you share one of your proudest achievements with us?
Besides getting into Vanderbilt for my doctoral degree (my dream school), working full time, finding out I was pregnant as soon as I put my deposit down, being sick during my entire pregnancy, raising a little girl in between work and classes, and ultimately finishing with straight A's, I would have to say it was my Ted Talk. I was called up last minute to give a Ted Talk about a time I took on a risk and whether that risk was worth it. In giving that talk I was able to really celebrate what a tumultuous three years it had been. I was also able to show my students, many of whom I had taught during those three years, that’s it’s ok to face adversity and to struggle. It’s okay to not be able to do it on your own. Being part of a supportive community and learning from your failures is what makes the experience impactful in the end.
7. What were your initial goals with your work? How have they evolved?
A paycheck. I was just biding my time until I was ready to go back to school. While I still appreciate my paycheck, I love seeing the evolution of my students. I love seeing them work their way to success and to come back and share those successes with me. This cycle of raising them up and teaching them how to be resilient when you can see the results. It’s my favorite part of the job.
8. What do you think is the most important life skill you learned through your work?
To just be able to roll with it. My mom told me my entire life, that it’s either going to be a great lesson or a great story, and when you look at everything that way, the bad stuff just seems more palatable. She was right. I’ve always said what’s the worst that can happen? It’ll either be a great lesson or a great story but either way I’ll get something out of this that’s worthwhile.
9. Where do you hope to be in five years?
I would love to have another child to round out our family. Being a mom has truly been my greatest challenge and my greatest blessing. I would love to continue to build the school that we are currently at and when we can’t do any more here, I would love to continue to contribute to schools around the world.
10. What is a typical day like for you?
We are up by 630/7 to get our daughter ready for school. I’m at school around 8. We have our school day from 8-4:15, activities from 4:30-5:45, dinner following that and on nights I’m on duty, study hall is from 7-9 with lock up around 10PM. Some nights are earlier but being a boarding school, we’re here a lot. Weekends we are here and since Covid, most of the holidays we are around as well since we have students who can’t leave the country.
When I get breaks in the day, I like to connect with peers in my industry, setting up chats to keep in touch. I walk around and check in on my faculty to make sure they are well supported. And, if all the paperwork and high fives are done, I like to read about inspirational leaders and their perspective on how to overcome challenges and adversity. Eleven Rings by Phil Jackson is my most unexpected favorites.
11. What was the biggest obstacle you’ve faced so far in the process of pursuing your goals?
Societal expectations are a tremendous obstacle and being able to balance what you want, what “they” want, and what you need can be really overwhelming. Before we had our daughter, I felt like I was failing by focusing on my career, my schooling, and other people’s children. I hated the “when are you having children” question because it felt like another person asking me why I wasn’t doing what I was “supposed” to do.
Now with a daughter, I feel like I fail her sometimes because I am trying to give so much to keeping up to date on the latest trends, networking, making sure my students are successful, and helping to lead a school. I’m sometimes the last mom to pick her up. Sometimes her hair is in a messy bun instead of beautiful braids when we go to school. We don’t look like the typical family and it can sometimes feel like people are judging us no matter what we do.
It has been hard to wrap my mind around not caring what other people think, and its probably an obstacle that I will continue to try to overcome. It is a great reminder though, when I look at other people and their situations, of how much everyone just needs a little bit of grace and how I can be someone to give that grace. When we can pass on that grace, along with kindness and compassion, it can change the whole cycle.
12. What is the best piece of advice you have received?
My Southern Mom back with the pearls of wisdom, said that I’m always allowed to make my own choices, but I’m not free from the consequences from those choices. That has always given me pause before I made decisions because I want to be able to take responsibility for what I have done. It has always helped to me stop and really think about my choices, as well as who will be impacted and what they may cost me in the long run.
““ Everytime you think you are ready to give up, someone from the past will come back and tell you what an influence you have had on them. I think that is really special; to give your all and know that whether it is recognized or not in the moment, it will matter. ””
13. When do you get your best ideas?
After working out or late at night. It is the only time there is some quiet in my head and in my world. I get a chance to run with my thoughts in an uninterrupted setting. No obligations, no children asking questions, just me and my thoughts.
14. Can you share with us one time that you failed and what you learned from that failure?
My first day in the classroom set the course for everything I would do after. I accepted a job at a Title I school, after having lived quite a privileged life. I didn’t really understand what Title I meant or the obstacles these kids were facing. I myself was a baby at the time. I walked in and said, “Ok everyone, please be quiet. We are going to read Romeo and Juliet today. This is so exciting! I love this book.” I was met with some explicitives and the general disposition of not being welcome.
When I said they couldn’t talk to me like that, they laughed. All of the other teachers who came before me hadn’t lasted more than a few days before quitting; we were in the 3rd week of school. They knew if they could make me miserable, I would leave and they could do what they wanted. But I didn’t. What they didn’t know about me was that I was stubborn and I was willing to make this work. So day by day, I continued to show up. And by the second week, they asked when I was going to quit.
Despite feeling like a total failure and knowing that they didn’t want me to be there, I said I don’t quit and went on with what I was doing. I didn’t know it then, but I realize now that unlike the schools I had gone to with stability and respect demanded by the teachers, these students operated on a system where we all earned respect. I was an outsider and no granted the respect I thought I deserved because I had the title of teacher. Every year I remember those moments. Every year, I decide to treat my students like adults, not children. Every year I work to earn their respect. Every year I work to cultivate a relationship and community with my students. My circumstances have changed and I now work at an international boarding school, but the lessons of those days remain. Respect is earned, not given.
15. How do you unwind?
I know this sounds horrible, but I love really really bad reality TV. The cheesier the better. It doesn’t require a lot of thought to engage with it and its fun to follow along.
16. What did you want to be as a kid?
An actress, which I guess you can kind of say I achieved. Every day I get up and get to be the best characters in the best novels ever written.
17. Can you share a sacrifice you have made to pursue your dream?
I think time is the biggest sacrifice I’ve made. I had just found out I was pregnant when I was starting my doctoral classes. Between the stress of those classes, teaching, and being sick I didn’t really enjoy my pregnancy. I don’t have really any pictures from that 10 month time period. And while I certainly try to make time for my family in the stolen moments I can get each day, sometimes I feel like I rob them of time I could be spending with them if I wasn’t in a leadership position and if I hadn’t gone for a terminal graduate degree.
18. What would you tell someone else who is interested in entering your field?
It will be the hardest, most rewarding, incredibly stressful, and often verbally thankless job you will pursue, but you are making a difference. Everytime you think you are ready to give up, someone from the past will come back and tell you what an influence you have had on them. I think that is really special; to give your all and know that whether it is recognized or not in the moment, it will matter.
19. What do you hope people take away from your story?
If this is what you want, it is completely worth it. Teachers are facing increasing scrutiny as some political agendas are painting them as villains. Every industry goes through it; we all need scapegoats. But if you are truly here to lead the next generations to think more critically, to speak up, to give back, and to chase their dreams, all the sacrifices, all the negative talk will fall to the side. You are worthy, you are important, and you are making a difference beyond the scope of your imagination.
Support Shannon
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sc_preze/
Ted Talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/shannon_perez_the_game_truth_or_dare
