Shannon Whitehouse considers herself a Yooper although many fight her on this point. She comes from a long-line of Yoopers, but had the misfortune of being born in Springfield, MA. However, Shannon is happy to share her birthplace with Theodor Geisel, AKA Dr. Seuss. Her parents moved her and her older brother back to their home town of Marquette, specifically to South Marquette, when she was five years old and she has not moved since.
Shannon graduated from Marquette Senior High School in 2012 and entered college with full intentions of being a music and movement therapist. While she did graduate from Northern Michigan University (NMU) in 2016 with her B.S. in Psychology and a minor in Music, she discovered that she enjoyed the research end of psychology more than the therapy side. What led her to this discovery was her time as a lab assistant and colony worker for the Neuropsychopharmocology Lab. During this stint, Shannon conducted and analyzed the data for many experiments and helped produce the article, “Neurotensin NTS1 and NTS2 receptor agonists produce anxiolytic-like effects in the 22-kHz ultrasonic vocalization model in rats”, in the magazine, Brain Research. She also presented multiple posters at the Celebration of Students Works and the Society for Neuroscience conferences.
Although she decided on a different career path, the love of music and movement never left her. During her first two years of college, Shannon participated in the NMU Percussion Ensemble and Marching Band, the Pride of the North, and then continued to play with the Percussion Ensemble and various other groups including OM and the orchestra throughout the rest of her years at Northern. She was a Lyrical and Modern dance instructor at New Attitudes Dance Studio for 5 years. She also enjoyed participating in the NMU Dance Recital and performing in a local modern dance group under the direction of the incomparable Maria Formolo.
Shannon is active in the Marquette arts community. She has been a counselor and assistant director for the Percussive Attack Camp as well as a counselor and section advisor for the Upper Peninsula Youth Orchestra. She is a member of the Marquette Symphony Orchestra and often fills in for missing members for the Marquette City Band. It was her pleasure to participate as both a musician and a dancer in the annual Halloween Spectacle (a must-see if you are in the Marquette area for Halloween), and to teach classes in Lyrical and Modern dance forms at the Blueberry Dance Festival.
Utilizing her degree in Psychology, Shannon now works for Stang Decision Systems (SDS), an I/O Psychology firm in Marquette, MI. As an I/O Psychology firm, SDS specializes in employee placement and assessment using personality and cognitive testing. She began as a lowly intern in June of 2016 where she created a survey for analyzing employee knowledge within SDS. Shannon was quickly promoted to Office Manager in August 2016. As an Office Manager, she is in charge of making sure the office runs smoothly by scheduling tests and interviews has well as office space and staff availability and analyzing test results and generating reports. She also oversees the acquisition of new employees for several Stang Decision Systems clients.
Shannon joined 40 Below this January, (after hearing about the group from several people–It’s good to share the message) and has been thrilled with the opportunities it offers. She is a member of the events committee and the holiday party planning committee. She enjoys the chance to meet new people in the area who have similar interests to her own, and to do so over fun activities such as Virtual Arcades and Yoga & Hops. She looks forward to the possibility of having more involvement in both 40 Below and the community in the future.
In her spare time, Shannon likes to read, hike with her dog, Browning, and go to the Ore Dock for the music, the dancing, and of course the craft beer. She is the founder of the South Marquette Lady’s Book Club where they mostly drink wine while having lively literary discussions.
