Shannon Stevens ’19 has been named to the National Recreation and Park Association’s 30 Under 30 list and honored as Young Professional of the Year by the Illinois Park and Recreation Association—recognition for a career that nearly set sail in a different direction.
Stevens, who studied recreation management at Illinois State University’s School of Kinesiology and Recreation, is facility manager for the beach and ice rink at Glencoe Park District, a Chicago suburb on Lake Michigan. She redesigned Beach SAFE, a water safety program for children and families.
“Beach SAFE started as a one-day program where we brought in a group of students for a presentation about beach safety, and then we would take them sailing or kayaking on the lake,” Stevens said. “I started thinking, ‘How can we make this better?’”
People are also reading…
With help from the park district marketing team, she created an activity book to teach children how to stay safe around large bodies of water.
“Often when I’m at the beach, I see parents trying to do the right thing and put their kids in life jackets, but they don’t fit right. I want to educate as much as I can about basic water safety without stepping on toes,” Stevens said.
Rather than leaving a stack of Beach SAFE booklets in the park office, Stevens took the educational material straight into classrooms. From how to escape a rip current to the proper fit of life jackets, she presented to over 700 Glencoe students in pre-K through high school in 2025.
“I recently had a teacher pull me aside and say, ‘The children sometimes treat the lake like a pool and it’s not. This is really great information to share,’” Stevens said.
According to the National Weather Service, Lake Michigan has the most water current-related incidents of all the Great Lakes.
Great Lakes waves occur closer together than ocean waves, making it hard to recover from being knocked down, and dangerous currents are more likely as waves get higher.
When she started working for the park district, Stevens had to learn the unfamiliar ropes of boating safety. Glencoe Park District offers sailboats, kayaks, and paddleboards to rent, and sailors store their boats at the beach.
“There’s a learning curve at the boating beach with the wind and waves. At a pool, I could learn what chemicals need to be balanced in the water, but on the beach, I had to learn the wind direction and speed in knots—all these things you can’t control,” Stevens said.
With a fresh understanding of watercraft rules, Stevens created a series of videos covering safety measures for experienced and novice boaters to watch before launching into the lake. She’s also working on a guidebook for boaters.
“This is one of the hardest jobs I’ve done, especially year one. The Beach SAFE program and boating videos were two of my goals,” Stevens said. “I’m lucky I ended up at a park district that allows me to be creative. I can’t help but look at the pivot points that got me here.”
At Illinois State, Stevens worked for Campus Recreation and played on the club rugby team. She initially studied math education with plans to become a teacher but still felt uncertain about the future.
“I was one of those lost souls at ISU, and there was a point where I couldn’t figure out my major, and I just wanted to drop out,” she said.
With some faculty encouragement, Stevens began to explore kinesiology and dove into the recreation management major. She credits School of Kinesiology and Recreation faculty like Dr. Brent Beggs and Dr. Barb Schlatter for fostering a welcoming environment in the program.
“I never thought I’d be so passionate about where I went to school, but I talk about ISU all the time,” Stevens said. “I think the bond that I have with my professors is something I will never give up or take for granted. I could email them, pick their brains, and now I see them at conferences. At what other school do you get that true connection and relationship with your professors?”
During her senior year, Stevens tore her ACL in a rugby match. The major requires two internships before graduation, and she was worried a surgery would unravel her plans. In a panic, she contacted Lindsey Nicholson, M.S. ’07, internship coordinator and assistant professor in the School of Kinesiology and Recreation.
“We had a nice long phone call discussing that she was ready for the real world and next steps, even if it didn’t look exactly the way she envisioned,” Nicholson said.
She pointed Stevens to the Illinois Parks and Recreation Association job board where she landed an internship with Glencoe Park District. That led to a string of full-time positions as camp director, program manager, and ultimately, her current position managing the beach and ice rink.
“I would have never ended up here had it not been for my senior internship.”
—Shannon Stevens ’19
Nicholson said internships are often “when learning becomes real.”
“Students learn to communicate professionally, solve real problems, adapt to new environments, and gain confidence in their abilities. This is exactly what happened with Shannon,” Nicholson said. “We gave her the tools, but she is an incredible professional and has worked hard for this honor.”
Directors with the Glencoe Park District nominated Stevens for both awards, surprising her with the news at a state conference by inviting her family to attend.
“I found when you persevere and push yourself, these awesome things do happen,” Stevens said.
