Welcome to the Playhouse, Shannon!

Shannon Lyons is a third-final year Child Life Graduate Student at Erikson Institute. She will be interning with GiGi’s Playhouse Chicago for the Fall 2021 semester. Shannon grew up in a small town 4 hours south of Chicago. Her master’s degree major is a Master’s in Science: Child Development with a concentration in Child Life. She thoroughly enjoys reading new books, crocheting, baking anything with chocolate in it and raising awareness for those most vulnerable. She is graduating this coming May 2022. In addition to graduating in May, she will also reach her long-awaited goal of becoming a Certified Child Life Specialist (CCLS).  Shannon is very inspired by GiGi’s Playhouse Chicago’s vision to take away the stigma of Down syndrome, creating an encouraging outlook for anyone who comes to the Playhouse.

In addition, Shannon looks forward to meeting all the incredible children and families who are a part of the GiGi’s Playhouse Chicago location. She will be one of our new Literacy Tutors this Fall.

What do you want to do upon graduating from Erikson Institute?

I plan to find a certified child life specialist (CCLS) or child development job in the Chicagoland area or outside of Illinois. From either future position, I look to bring my child life clinical skills and experiences, child development knowledge and experiences, and overall professional skills to excel in the next step in my journey.

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?

Back to Haiti for another mission trip. The country, people, and communities I visited there hold such a special place in my heart.

If you could have dinner with anyone from history, who would it be?

Audrey Hepburn. She and I would have a delightful dinner with chocolate cake at the end, share our hopes for the world’s children, and enjoy jewelry pieces from Tiffany’s.

What are you looking forward to this Fall?

I love baking fall festive desserts, going apple picking and walking through corn mazes with loved ones, cozy sweaters, drinking apple cider and enjoying campfires in the autumn air.

What are you looking forward to getting out of your internship?

I would love to get out of this internship an even deeper understanding of the ‘ins and outs’ of running a non-profit organization, seeing how those are relatable to my present and future work with children and families, different settings, etc. As well as this, seeing how every person’s part contributes to the meaning of the mission of GiGi’s Playhouse Chicago.