SHANNAN IS A QUITTER...

turned CEO of the first black-owned script consultant agency in the entertainment industry, The Professional Pen. She took all of the things that she enjoyed from each of her life experiences and turned her side hustle into her full-time job. She now develops screenwriters from idea to pitch to build more confident storytellers and prepare them for professional screenwriting careers. As a Script Consultant, Shannan functions as a story therapist using life to teach storytelling elements. Realizing these techniques are transferrable to college students currently in their own coming-of-age story, Shannan created a Speaker Series that uses storytelling elements to teach life to college freshmen with big dreams.
Shannan walked straight off the graduation stage at Texas A& University with two bachelor's degrees and into her career as an Academic Scholarship Advisor and Recruiter there. It didn't take long before she realized she was helping her students pursue their dreams - even starting a non-profit for teen girls - while stifling her own. So, she quit. She packed her life into her Chevrolet Cavalier and headed to Hollywood - the largest gated community in the world. She joined the crowd of eager creatives in waiting on the passcode for entry. Her staving artist life led her through internships, assistant positions to celebrity directors and top executives, and ultimately film school at Florida State University.  After receiving her MFA, Shannan returned to Hollywood as  a TV Executive taking stories from pitch to production. Then... She quit... again... because YOLO.
At age 28, Shannan left a cushy executive job to explore the world touring 19 countries and 49 states in dance companies and Broadway National Tours. She inhaled culture, perspective and experience that honed her craft and catapulted her confidence. So, when Shannan returned to LA to live in her purpose but doors continued to slam in her face, she took the leap and bet on herself. She stopped pursuing her dreams and started chasing my reality. I became the protagonist of her own story. So, Shannan proudly lauds herself for transitioning 

PROGRAMS

THE POWER OF CHANGING YOUR MIND
Take the Leap to create your story!
When we go to college, we think we have to have our entire lives planned out. We feel like failures if we don't know what we want to do or know what our purpose is in life. Some of us have a plan. Some of us know our purpose. And it still takes time for us to get where we're supposed to be. This means you have the right to change your mind.

Everyday that we wake up with life in our bodies is an opportunity to do something different. TRY something new.

In this engaging workshop, Shannan shares testimonies about her own love with changing her mind and lays out steps for students to shift their perspective on having it all figured out by using storytelling mechanisms from our favorite films. This interactive discussion will relieve stress and open students up to greater opportunities for success.  When fear is replaced by confidence, students can TAKE THE LEAP!
BE THE PROTAGONIST OF YOUR OWN STORY!
Learn to live a Main Character lifestyle.
College is a time to get out of the passenger seat and drive, creating a path for our own lives. Gone are the days of formal guidance from our parents. College is a time to form our own identities, perspectives and experiences. Sometimes while navigating this new terrain, we get lost and end up right back in the passenger seat of a different car.

In this captivating workshop, Shannan uses storytelling mechanisms from our favorite films to teach students to secure their seat as a driver and kick into gear. Students will learn to put themselves at the center of their own stories, including self care, in order to be ready to TAKE each and every LEAP!
EFF YOUR DREAMS!
Use S.M.A.R.T. Goals to make a plan for your story.
Wait, forget my dreams? Yesssss!!! Dreams are beautiful projections but until we put action behind them, they are just that... Dreams. In this action-packed workshop, Shannan uses storytelling mechanisms from our favorite films to teach setting and achieving life goals.

​Life, like films, are not without complications. So, instead of bumping into hurdles along the way, we plan for them... we expect them... welcome them because when our goals are SMART: Specific Measurable Achievable Realistic Time Bound, we are destined to meet them. Shannan gives actionable steps to show students how to make focused goals for a brighter future. Then, they’re ready to TAKE THE LEAP!

Changing lives
​one story at a time

READY TO INCREASE
​FRESHMEN RETENTION?

    BRING SHANNAN TO YOUR CAMPUS