Meet Shannon!

Shannon Lopez has had abundant educational and career experiences and has lived in many different locations that have led her to where she is today as the Administrative Assistant for Concurrent Enrollment at Utah Valley University (UVU). Growing up in Riverside, Washington, a little town north of Spokane, and considered to be very low income. Though educational opportunities were limited, Shannon took advantage of the ones she could and participated in the Running Start program. This program is similar to Concurrent Enrollment, and Shannon was the first to complete it in five years.

Following her high school graduation, Shannon relocated with her father to Williston, North Dakota, where she worked as a CNA. The rest of her family soon joined them, and Shannon transitioned from a CNA to a server at a local restaurant. She did that until she decided to serve an eighteen-month mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and was sent to Brazil.

Upon returning from Brazil, Shannon began school at Utah State University (USU) and graduated in 2018 with a degree in health education and promotion with an emphasis in community health. Shannon put herself through school by working in the produce department at Macey’s grocery store.

Shannon then decided to move to Reno, Nevada, and find a job centered on her field of study. She began working with Americorps and assisting with opioid abuse prevention before accepting a job with the Nevada State Board of Pharmacy and working with the prescription monitoring program. Eventually, she moved up to become the board coordinator.

While working in Nevada, Shannon and her husband met online while he was residing in Pleasant Grove, Utah, and maintained a strong long-distance relationship. They eventually got married, and together, they moved to Provo, Utah. Having difficulty finding a career focused on her field, Shannon had many experiences that helped her to settle and adjust to a new city and life, preparing her to accept her position at UVU Concurrent Enrollment.

Shannon’s personal progression didn’t stop with academics and her career; she has also continually extended this effort physically. She has experience in Brazilian Jujitsu, Muay Thai, Taekwondo Kickboxing, and currently holds a second-degree blackbelt in the American Kepo Karate Training System through the John Sepulveda line, showing she gives one hundred percent in absolutely everything she does. Shannon did martial arts all growing up until she achieved her blackbelt as a high school senior. She took a little break while moving around, but picked it back up again while residing in Nevada.

 

Before she knew it, Shannon was interviewing for a position here at UVU in the Concurrent Enrollment Department. She accepted her current position as an administrative assistant, where she has been for two years now. In her position, Shannon is responsible for onboarding and offboarding employees, finances, paying high school teachers and UVU faculty liaisons, supporting Concurrent Enrollment’s Senior Director, Spencer Childs, and scheduling and collaboration.

When asked why Shannon does what she does and why she is passionate about Concurrent Enrollment, this is the reason she gave,

“Knowing that there are students that are currently in the same boat that I was, that maybe don’t come from the best financial situation or high school, but that there’s a really great opportunity for them to get ahead. And I get to be a part of them getting ahead and a part of the impact it has on those individuals.”

She added, “The Concurrent Enrollment program is amazing. It is constantly undergoing changes and getting better. Take advantage of the opportunities that come.”

Shannon Lopez is a big part of UVU’s Concurrent Enrollment program and helps to make it as amazing as it is. The time and effort she puts into this program and the students that are a part of it make us wish we could award Shannon with another second-degree blackbelt, or better yet, a second-degree UVU greenbelt!