Name: Sunny (Samantha) Shannonhouse
Year: Sophomore
Major: Double major- Management/Marketing
Hometown: Orlando, Florida
Sunny (Samantha) Shannonhouse isn’t just a President of a club at Suffolk. She is an inspiration. This year, Samantha has launched the To Write Love On Her Arms Suffolk UChapter. The To Write Love On Her Arms website perfectly states what this club is all about. It says, “To Write Love on Her Arms is a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide. TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery.”
What exactly does the Suffolk To Write Love On Her Arms UChapter do?
We exist to bring about awareness and conversation regarding the issues that TWLOHA addresses, as well spread hope to our campus. We are not professionals, and this is not a support group. We aim to put people in contact with resources of help, and make that first step into recovery less scary. We want to show people that they are not alone, and there are other people who feel the same way as you do.
When did you start the TWLOHA UChapter?
I have been in the process to bring TWLOHA to Suffolk since I attended Suffolk’s orientation before my freshman year, and now we are in the final stages of approval from Suffolk. I was required to attend a 4 day long MOVE conference put on by TWLOHA before I could start the UChapter. This conference educated me on the topics that are addressed by TWLOHA: self-injury, suicide, addiction, depression, and how to bring about conversations in my community. I also learned different strategies to effectively run the UChapter, and networked with other UChapter presidents from all over the US.
What motivated you to start this club?
TWLOHA originated about 45 minutes away from my hometown in Melbourne, FL. I have spent a great deal of my life in the Cocoa Beach/Melbourne area because I love to surf. I originally came across this organization 6 years ago in the local newspaper when it first started. I added them on MySpace (because that was the cool thing to do back then). I have personally dealt with some of the issues that TWLOHA addresses, so this organization really hit home for me, and I wanted to be involved. This is the same for most of the people I have met over the past 6 years: they can either relate to TWLOHA because they have personally dealt with the issues or they love someone who is.
I felt that opening a UChapter at Suffolk would be a great way to contribute to my community, especially when I recognized the need here at Suffolk. As many know, we have had two Suffolk students die by suicide in 2012 alone. After these events, I saw how much our community was hurting; students, faculty, and staff alike were unsure of how to talk about what had happened, and many were scared. The goal of starting the UChapter is to help break down the stigma associated with these issues by educating and informing my fellow classmates and faculty members. We also want to serve as a symbol of hope to whoever may be struggling by showing them that they are not alone in their battles and recovery is possible.
How can Suffolk students get involved?
They can email us at TWOHASuffolk@gmail.com
Follow us on twitter @TWLOHASuffolk
Join our Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/TWLOHASuffolkUniversity/
How else are you involved on campus? Are you in any other clubs?
I am a Sawyer Business School Ambassador and also a part of the Sawyer Business School Honors Program.
What are your plans for after graduation?
My dream is to run or start my own non-profit organization when I graduate. I’m not exactly sure what the organization will be about, it honestly depends on the demands and needs of my community.
What is one thing that nobody knows about you?
I am DEATHLY afraid of clowns. In all seriousness, I will have a full-blown panic attack just by looking at a picture of one. I think they are the creepiest, most disgusting creatures on the face of the Earth. I can deal with spiders and snakes any day, but I will freak as soon as I lay eyes on a clown.
Who would play you in a movie version of your life?
Angelina Jolie, because she is probably the most badass female in Hollywood. I respect and admire the aid work she does around the world. She genuinely cares about people, and she’s gorgeous!
What is your favorite quote & why?
I have two quotes that I live my life by. The first is by Renee Yohe, the girl behind the story of TWLOHA. She is incredibly sweet, and I have had the pleasure of meeting her twice so far. This quote reminds me to look towards the positive, bright things in life no matter what trials or hardships I am going through. Sometimes I forget how fortunate I truly am to be alive today, and this serves as a reminder that I am enough, and that I have purpose.
The second quote is by Nelson Mandela. I have been through some very painful experiences in my life, and this quote has given me the strength to stand up for myself. I knew that although I may be afraid, that does not make me weak. The only thing that matters is that I do not let that fear hold me back from doing what I need to do or should do.
“The stars are always there but we miss them in the dirt and clouds. We miss them in the storms. Tell them to remember hope. We have hope.” –Renee Yohe
“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” -Nelson Mandela