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Born to a single mother raising five children, Shannon Keagle could not have foreseen a college degree in her future. With an absent father who suffered from alcoholism, Keagle’s mother worked nights at the local gas station to support her children.

“While there was a lot of love in our family one thing we always struggled with was money, there just never seemed to be enough to pay for all the bills,” Keagle said. “For that reason for a large part of my childhood we really relied on family and friends. There were periods of my life where I lived in extra rooms and aunts and uncles homes.”

As a child, Keagle dreamt of becoming a treasure hunter after reading that there were millions of undiscovered gold at the bottom of the ocean. Though as she entered her teenage years, her views of her future shifted.

“Obviously as I got older, junior high, high school, I started to think maybe education is the way to make this happen, maybe a career or profession, that this might be the more realistic approach to see a difference for myself and for my family.”

Prior to Keagle and her two other siblings attending college, the concept of higher education was completely foreign to her family.

“When I became old enough to start thinking about going to college it was a scary time for my family,” Keagle explained. “We didn’t know anything about FAFSA, we hadn’t any experience with ACT prep courses, visiting colleges campuses wasn’t an option for us. We didn’t have a reliable car and my mom didn’t have the money to do that sort of thing.”

With the support of Give Something Back, Keagle broke the cycle for her family and made the dream of graduating college a reality. The organization guided Keagle through the very confusing process of applying to colleges, ensuring she was prepared to handle the rigors of a college curriculum.

Keagle graduated from the University of Illinois in 2007. Now an attorney for Harris Tax Law in Chicago, she is married with a daughter and a son.

“The Give Something Back foundation is one of the motivating factors in my life,” Keagle said. “When people believe in you, it is incredibly empowering and gives you the strength to push yourself scholastically, professionally and personally. I consider receiving the scholarship to have been a game changing moment.”

Keagle now serves the organization that gave so much to her. When she is not working in downtown Chicago or spending time with her family, Keagle mentors current students within the Give Something Back family.

“This breaks barriers, this makes a difference for students, families and generations, beyond the student that receives the gift,” Shannon said.