Oh, the Places Your Dreams Will Take You

 By Shannah Weller

You know when you’re a kid, and someone asks you “what do you want to be when you grow up?” you say, “a doctor!” or “the President!” or some other illustrious career! For me, my answer was “a scientist!”. In the third grade, I remember learning about the planets, stars, and galaxies that light up our night skies, and I was enamored by them! However, like many of us, as I got older, I let my dream of becoming a scientist go for many years. One of the reasons I lost sight of my dream of solving the mysteries of the universe and our world was because outside influences told me that my dreams were impossible to achieve. Throughout high school, I had teachers and counselors who were less than encouraging when it came to my interest in science. They would say things like, “not with that grade you won’t become a scientist,” or “but you don’t look like a scientist. You look like the type of girl who insert stereotype here”. I was bombarded with similar attitudes constantly, and once I graduated, I was convinced I didn’t have what it takes to see my dream come to fruition. 

Fast forward to 25-year-old-Shannah. She’s three years into an international trade career at an aerospace company. Then COVID hit… Life changed, and she decided to go back to school part time. Unfortunately, a year prior to COVID, she lost her sister Jana to Cystic Fibrosis, a genetic disease that chronically damages and hinders the lungs, causing the inability to breathe properly. Jana was a fighter. She too, was told by authority figures her dreams were unobtainable because of her physical disability. But unlike me, she didn’t listen! She traveled internationally on her own as a volunteer and missionary throughout Central America. It wasn’t until after working through the grief of losing my sister that I was able to take inspiration from her, fully realizing if she could do it, I could do it too! So, I left my career to go back to school full time. I was 26. Thankfully I had some credits under my belt already before enrolling at Saint Michael’s College two years ago! Now, at 28 years old, I’m

a senior and on my way to getting a Bachelor of Science in Biology! I’m currently a lab assistant in the Environmental Science Department at Saint Mike’s and am doing limnological research on Lake Champlain! I’m doing what I love and loving every moment of it! I’m a scientist! I also now run a nonprofit donation drive called the For the Love of Science (FLS) Donation Drive, where I collect donated STEM kids’ activity kits and donate them to afterschool programs around my state. One of my goals as the new Ms. New England Petite is to expand FLS throughout New England! 

My hope is to show the next generation of dreamers that no matter what, you can see your dreams come true. And it doesn’t have to be a dream about becoming a scientist! The most important thing is we stay true to ourselves, believe in ourselves, and celebrate the most authentic versions of ourselves! 

Keep dreamin’, reader! Because your dreams are closer than you think!

----------

Shannah Weller is the current Ms New England Petite USA. You can follow her on her title's Instagram and website. 

This is her first guest blog for Section 36 Forevers.