Shannon O'Brien is prone to hyperbole and using the word "exactly" far too often in casual conversation. She received a bachelor's degree in photojournalism from Ohio University, then ran off to explore. While working as a photographer for newspapers including the Dayton (OH) Daily News, and the Palm Beach Post (FL), she photographed the Westminster Dog Show, the 2004 Republican National Convention, hurricane after hurricane in South Florida, and an orphanage for disabled children in Fermathe, Haiti. She became dreadfully seasick on a tall ship when she and a coworker reported on local high school students who were spending their spring break studying at sea. Her photos have been noted by organizations including the Florida Press Club, the National Press Photographers Association, Women in Photojournalism, and the Southern Short Course.
After several years of adventure with a camera, she let her love of writing take precedence, and she returned to graduate school to earn an MFA in nonfiction writing from Florida Atlantic University. While there she became enamored with the work of James Joyce (thanks to a terrific professor), and spent her first Bloomsday in Dublin, Ireland, kicking around Joyce's hometown. For her thesis project, she wrote essays about immigration and language, and volunteered at the local labor center where she met immigrant workers who told her their stories. The final product is called "Trilling R's: Meditations on Immigration, Assimilation, and Language.”
She currently works as the senior photographer for the University of Illinois Springfield.
After several years of adventure with a camera, she let her love of writing take precedence, and she returned to graduate school to earn an MFA in nonfiction writing from Florida Atlantic University. While there she became enamored with the work of James Joyce (thanks to a terrific professor), and spent her first Bloomsday in Dublin, Ireland, kicking around Joyce's hometown. For her thesis project, she wrote essays about immigration and language, and volunteered at the local labor center where she met immigrant workers who told her their stories. The final product is called "Trilling R's: Meditations on Immigration, Assimilation, and Language.”
She currently works as the senior photographer for the University of Illinois Springfield.