Shannon Cagney - Student,
A Life of Service Foundation Coordinator, World Gastroenterology Organisation
“Serving others is not simply something I do, rather it is at the very core of who I am,” says Shannon. “I have truly been blessed with many service opportunities that have enriched my life and inspired lifelong relationships.”
While Shannon was an undergraduate student at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, she volunteered with the Big Brother Big Sister organization. In addition, Shannon was selected to serve as an English teacher in Lviv, Ukraine at the Catholic University of Ukraine’s annual English Summer School. The experience of working with the genuine and loving Ukrainian people sparked Shannon’s interest in Eastern Europe and serving in the Peace Corps. After graduation, she joined the Peace Corps during the summer of 2008 and served as an English teacher/community development volunteer in the Republic of Moldova for 29 months.
When she returned to the States, Shannon was offered a job as a Title 1 school teacher at Catapult Learning in Milwaukee. Inspired by her service experience and her grandfather’s passion for social justice, Shannon decided that she would like to move from a career in education to one in the non-profit sector. She is following in her grandfather’s footsteps and attending Marquette University, with a goal to earn a master’s degree in Public Service with a Non-Profit Leadership specialization within two years.
Currently, Shannon works full-time as a Foundation Coordinator for the World Gastroenterology Organisation, assisting with initiatives to provide digestive health education, services and equipment to developing countries around the world. She also serves as the graduate student representative on Marquette University’s Committee on Teaching. “My ultimate career goal is to work for the Peace Corps or another similar international grassroots organization,” Shannon says.
Matthias Seisay '11,
President - Seisay Foundation, Inc., Counselor/Recruiter - Educational Opportunity Program, Marquette University
After speaking out against the use of child soldiers in his native Sierra Leone (West Africa), Matthias was forced to flee the country and help those children from afar. Now he gives the children hope through his experience as a child rights advocate.
As head of the nonprofit organization Seisay Foundation, Matthias helps collect used or unwanted bicycles from Milwaukee's police stations, scrap heaps and schools to help Sierra Leone kids get to school. "As a child, I learned what it means to walk a long distance and get to school at 8:00 a.m. Bicycles can serve as a great source of encouragement for these kids to take their schooling seriously."
Matthias and the Seisay Foundation are helping children in other ways by opening a tailor shop there to train former child soldiers marketable skills and a beauty shop where women learn hair-dressing techniques. Seisay hopes to open an auto shop and develop a health clinic there and someday return home. His humanitarian work helped him earn the Desmond Tutu Emerging Leader Award.
Currently, Matthias is helping low-income and first generation students to enter and succeed in higher education through his position as a counselor/recruiter with Marquette University's Educational Opportunity Program (EOP). Matthias also serves as a great role model for children and others by taking his own education seriously. After he began to study for an MBA at Ottawa University, he learned that the master's degree in Public Service offered at Marquette's College of Professional Studies was a better fit for his interests in questioning why our policy makers/leaders make certain decisions. "Knowing what I know now, it was the best decision I have made in a long time," remarks Seisay.
