Shannon Wilson graduated from Heritage High School in 2015. Her senior year was filled with accomplishments in theater, band, choir and academics, so while her acceptance to UC Santa Cruz was celebrated it was not doubted. Her dedication to school, her talents in the arts and her beautiful personality have been missed by all Heritage students who knew her.

  Wilson is an Ecology and Evolutionary Biology major at UCSC. Wilson says that it has always been on her list of preferred colleges but she was having trouble making a decision until she visited the school.

  “Oddly enough, I didn’t know it was the right school until I got here. I knew the social climate and sheer amount of nature in Santa Cruz fit perfectly with my lifestyle,” Wilson described.

  However, going from a High school environment to a college one is a challenging experience. It was a challenge even for someone like Wilson.

  “It was a foreign environment with an entirely different structure and schedule of life,” She admitted, “I constantly felt overwhelmed with all of the new friendships I was making and new, challenging courses on top of trying to maintain a relationship that was abusive and unhealthy.” Wilson is now in a happy and healthy relationship and has admitted that the overwhelmingness of college has cooled down slightly.

  “Eventually, my perspective shifted and I was able to free myself of that and everything became a lot more natural and organic. The support system of friends and professors you meet in college really ease the difficulty of adjusting to a new, more adult life.”

  Obviously, college life is not only focused on the academics. It’s common knowledge that Universities offer many, many extra curriculars from sports to band programs. When Wilson was a student at Heritage, she as well known for her incredible singing abilities in choir and the theater program.

  Thankfully, Wilson has continued her passion for the vocal arts at UCSC by joining an acapella group, not so unlike the one she was apart of as a high schooler.

  “I’ve spent the last two years as a part of of Acquire A Acapella. Balancing hobbies and academia can be difficult but I wouldn’t trade the experience of pursuing my passion alongside college for anything.”

 Moving on from her high school years has been a rough road for Wilson but it has made her a stronger and more experienced person. She loves where she ended up going and has a lot of fun meeting new people, doing new things, and getting to pursue her passions.