It’s not every day that you talk with a stranger. Even less that they inspire you. But at Parkland, it does happen, and it happened to me.
I want to tell you about Shannon Voss. Just like with everything in this crazy world, we met by happenstance, at the Jimmy Johns on Bloomington. I just got done with class and needed a freaky fast sandwich in my belly. As I walked in, there was this guy making everyone behind the counter laugh—authentically laugh. This guy was making the staff laugh so much that he even got a free sandwich. I try not to be a jealous person, but I was green as the avocado on my Beach Club. As he sees my stare of admiration, he rolls up to me and explains it simply, “Hello, my name is Shannon Voss, formerly the fastest sandwich maker and wrapper at Jimmy Johns, and currently the first sitting down comedian.” Shannon uses a wheelchair to aid his movement and mainly an iPad for communication. After introductions, we conversed for 30 minutes at least. He told me his story, he told me the best Jimmy sammy, a number 5 with mayo, and he kept cracking jokes. We became Facebook friends, said our goodbyes, and I left feeling lit up; smiling, just marveling over the small moments life throws and gifts you.
Moments like those often serve a larger purpose, even if you can’t see it. I hadn’t talked to Shannon since then, only wondering if I’d see him in freaky fast fashion once more. But thanks to Parkland, I’ve gotten to meet up with Shannon once more. He’s such a charming person that on the list of people he’s charmed, me and all of Jimmy John’s staff, he added the Prospectus’s own Lauren O’Connor, a faculty advisor. At our meeting, she told us about a student who has captured her eye with his light. Shannon truly left a lasting impression on all those he met. I couldn’t believe the luck, of course I was going to jump at this chance, and what a chance at that, what a small, amazing world.
Shannon is a beacon of optimism in a way that I feel ashamed of when I roll my eyes in the morning and think to myself, “ugh, another day alive, great.” He has left an impression on me, that cannot be replicated outside of a conversation with this great comedian. While we can’t provide that, we have the second-best option, a letter from Shannon because who is better to tell his story than Shannon himself.
Hello, my name is Shannon Voss I skipped second grade, and in high school, I balanced two jobs, one part and one full time. Which didn’t stop me from graduating as the Valedictorian. After graduation, I said goodbye to my family in Chicago, in looks for a better life. Thanks to my ACT score of 34, I came to Champaign-Urbana and started the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign as a business administration major, I joined a fraternity my sophomore year, and I had a full-time job at Jimmy Johns, where I broke the record for wrapping a number four all by myself, 13 seconds. I also wrapped up my first two semesters with all A’s and B’s; everything was working out just as I wanted it to. In 2013 my life changed forever at the beginning of my junior year of college. My fraternity brother found me passed out and I was rushed to the hospital. This wasn’t drinking gone bad, I wish. It turns out I was diagnosed with sinus tachycardia, hypo magnesia, respiratory failure, aspiration pneumonia, trachea bronchitis, varicella-zoster encephalitis, and anoxic brain injury- Encephalopathy. Can you imagine being ready for life and then everything is taken away from you in a blink of an eye? No takebacks, no get out of jail free card, you wake up and your life is changed forever and the only thing you can do is deal with it. To deal with it, I entered the Carle therapy program, I had to change the whole direction of my life from going to school to going to therapy. I needed to learn everything all over again, from sitting up, standing up, speaking, eating, and any basic, necessary movement for everyday life. This was beyond anything I had ever experienced in my life. It was so many times I thought about if I wasn’t here anymore, would anyone even care? One night when I was in Carle hospital, I had a dream that I was graduating from college. That I had made it through my new challenge and succeeded despite it all. Ever since I had that dream it kept me going because if you can dream it, you can achieve it. I told myself that I will never learn if I never leap. So, in 2021 I started school again, this time at Parkland, I was going to take my time and do it my way. It was strange going back to school in this new form, but it felt right. Two months into the school year I get the worst call of my life, my mother had passed away. Now, I must manage to adjust to this new lifestyle and do well in school, while managing this new pain of loss, from my original comedic role model, my light, my mother. You have no idea who God made you to be, you just got to hang in there to find out. I could have gotten an A if I wasn’t dealing with so much this year. Nonetheless, I’m proud of myself for getting a B. I remember when I had to do bed exercises for therapy, couldn’t eat, or talk. Now I got more problems to deal with and I managed to get a fairly decent grade, I can give myself a little break. I know a lot of people who would have been in my situation would have said why me? What did I do to deserve this? Over time, I learned to say why not me. God doesn’t make any mistakes. He gives his strongest battles to his strongest warriors. God knew that I would take all the despair, anger, hurt, pain and put it into my schoolwork taking a negative and turning it into a positive. I would just like to thank God for the desire to finish school after being away from it for so long. Along with my Therapist at Carle Hospital, they are some of the most amazing people I ever encountered. “There is no royal road to anything. One thing at a time. All things in succession that which grows fast, withers rapidly. That which grows slowly endures.” (Josiah Gilbert Holland) By my attitude, you would probably never think in a million years that I have been through these obstacles. There is a quote I heard once that sums up my attitude, “You can’t wait for life to be easy before you decide to be happy.” I may be disabled, but I’m not defeated. I hope I’m making you proud mother. Sincerely, Shannon Voss
The one thing that neither Shannon nor I want from people is to think that Shannon needs help, or that his struggles are something to pity. What we want is to inspire, not just to work hard and do amazing things in life but to inspire people to open up to others and not be judgmental or selfish. Since 2013, Shannon has seen a shift in how people react around him. He sees them scared or anxious to interact with him, or people look at him as if he’s a child.
Please take your time to meet and talk with someone, if not just to learn their struggles and story, but to learn the small things about them. Favorite color, Shannon’s is blue, favorite movie, Inception, favorite song, “Help us to love” by Tori Kelly, or favorite TV show, surprisingly Grey’s Anatomy.
Thank you for taking the time to listen and learn about someone you might not have talked to in the hallway. Hopefully, you’ve been able to learn a portion of what I have from Shannon. In the words of the man himself, “Be kind, be open minded, and be the light.”