Shannon Ward thought the library was going to be her favorite place on campus long before orientation. “I knew I was going to be the Hermione Granger hiding away amongst shelves of books,” she says. “There’s something serene about being able to work there and just think.” The Creative Writing major definitely needs time to focus; when she’s alone, she’s creating worlds. “I’m a fiction writer and, at the moment, religious fantasy (angels and demons), criminology, and ‘super powers’ are my primary subjects of choice.” Even though she gravitates towards Chatham’s quietest spots, Shannon’s inspiration springs from interaction. “I really started writing in middle school when I discovered an online forum where writers from all walks of life could come craft a piece of fiction together,” she says. “This process of co-writing a story with other people (known as roleplaying) was what really sparked my interest in writing as a whole.”
That collaborative approach to artistic thought plays into another one of Shannon’s interests: crafting. “It’s a very peaceful hobby and, because it usually does not require much thinking, I’m able to talk with friends and family in a social setting. That’s what I think of every time I look at the completed project—the good times I got to spend with my friends.” Now that Shannon’s on campus, making things is not only a way of making memories; it’s a way of supporting the university’s mission. “Sustainability is extraordinarily important to me and has always been because of my roots,” she says. “My Mom is a diehard eco-activist. For as long as I can remember, we’d always go out in the summer to pick up trash….Sometimes, even, when we went out to parties or social events, we’d go through the trash afterwards to ensure that the cans and bottles got recycled. I’m a person who believes strongly that people should always take responsibility for what they have done.” Shannon is a whiz when it comes to reuse. She’s made everything from a pencil holder constructed with floppy disks to a chess set comprised of nuts and bolts. One particularly special project was a basket made out of recycled magazines. “I used someone else’s design, but my grandmother helped me roll up a few hundred of the pieces. The time spent with her making it was priceless.”
Even with all of her creative accomplishments, Shannon has one overall favorite: her completely original pop tab chainmail. “The idea for the chainmail initially came during my senior year as a personal project for a school tradition,” she says. “Each year in the beginning of April my high school does a renaissance fair in honor of Shakespeare’s birthday. All the teachers participate by decorating their rooms and educating the students on various aspects of medieval life, from how to carve a spoon to know-how about medieval torture in the Tower of London. For awhile, it used to be that you would get extra credit if you dressed up—now it is just part of the fun. The last few years, I attended this event as a cardboard knight, but my senior year I wanted to go out with a bang. Since I had almost two thousand pop tabs saved up and lying around, I figured making chainmail was the logical thing to do!” It certainly wasn’t an easy process: “The initial design took thirty hours to make, with eight hours in revamps. This was all done over the course of a month and a half.”
Eventually, the long hours paid off big time: Shannon’s design was a hit at this year’s Chatham Halloween Dinner. By the end of the night, Shannon had the award for “Best Use of Recycled Material,” a $25 Visa gift card, and the admiration of just about everyone in the room. “It was a really proud moment for me, not just because of the prize, but because of the kindness and interest shown in me by the judges and those attending the dinner,” she says. “People were so kind and genuinely interested in knowing more about the chainmail outfit and how it was made.”
Now, Shannon is hoping that her chainmail design will win big for charity: she’s collecting pop tabs from everyone in the Chatham community in hopes of making a new vest to auction off for a good cause. “My initial choice was the Ronald McDonald House because of the nature of the project; the chainmail is made of pop tabs, after all, and that is what the Ronald McDonald House is famous for collecting.” She adds, “There is nothing more important than a person’s health and everyone—especially children—should have equal opportunities for good healthcare.” Even so, Shannon’s open to suggestions for where the money will end up. “After all,” she says, “this is a group effort, so I feel the Chatham student body and faculty should have a voice in where the donation goes.”
How can people get involved? “The best way to support this particular cause is simply to donate pop tabs in the various collection bags around campus,” Shannon says. “They’re located in all the Chatham residence halls as well as Buhl, Coolidge, the library, Anderson—basically any place with recycling bins.” She hopes that students will encourage their families to collect, too: “The more people involved the better!”
Shannon isn’t quite sure what she wants to do after graduation, but there’s no doubt she’ll be making colossal things happen. In the meantime, she’s certainly happy to be a Cougar. “Chatham’s a beautiful school that is close enough to home that I could go home if I needed to, it offers my major (creative writing), and it has a huge emphasis in female leadership and environmental awareness. I couldn’t ask for a more perfect place.”