Women in Male-Dominant Fields: Sgt. Shannon

Being elected as a co-chair of a task force subcommittee often is considered a burden, but not to Sgt. Kathy Shannon of the Thomas Nelson campus police.

"To have that opportunity to sit on that committee and then come up with ways on how to change that environment, that was a privilege to me," she said in reference to being assigned to look into faculty diversity.

It was part of the Law Enforcement Curriculum task force, which was formed by the VCCS in 2020 to examine the faculty hiring practices and student requirements of institutions that offer Administration of Justice degrees.

Shannon earned an associate degree in Administration of Justice from Thomas Nelson before obtaining bachelor's and master's degrees. She said most of her instructors throughout her educational journey were predominantly Caucasian men.

"I didn't see anyone teaching the class that looked like me," she said.

And while she said that wasn't difficult for her because she knew what her purpose was, she said it's important to have diversity in the classroom.

"If we want to change the narrative, we have to embrace the diversity of our instructors," she said. "Students (in all fields) want to see someone that looks like them so they can say, 'I can do this.'"

Another problem related to faculty was, at the time, some VCCS institutions required a master's degree and others a bachelor's degree to be hired to teach the subject. The goal is to be consistent at all member schools.

On the student side, there wasn't a standard curriculum. For example, community policing was an elective in many schools, but not all. It's a subject that has garnered much attention since the death of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, at the hands of the police. It has become a more important aspect of the job, and therefore the education.

"It was not a core subject in the administrative justice curriculum," Shannon said. "We worked on that. We also worked on the search committees for these jobs in the criminal justice field."

Shannon, who grew up in the Phoebus area of Hampton, is being highlighted as Thomas Nelson recognizes women in male-dominated fields as part of Women's History Month, which is March. That is not an unfamiliar position for Shannon, who was in the military for 30 years (active duty and reserves) before retiring in 2018. Her roles in the military included a food service specialist and a motor transportation operator, also male-dominated. Transitioning to another male-dominated field didn't bother her.

"It really didn't occur to me," she said. "It wasn't an issue trying to adjust."

She has been an officer at the College since 2005, and is extremely proud of helping the current students.

"One point after the killing of George Floyd, I had mixed feelings about it because I consider everyone in law enforcement my brother and sister," she said. "I was disappointed. It took me a while to even watch the video. Being able to be a part of a positive change is very important to me."

She said her most important role model growing up was her mother, and she would like to be a role model to today's youth, especially those from her hometown.

"It is important to inspire other little girls and young women," she said. "They can work in law enforcement and any other field labeled by society as 'male-dominant fields' and be successful."