Meet Shannon'Alise

At Embrace the New You, we believe that true strength lies in rising after the fall, healing through the hurt, and showing up — again and again — as your most authentic self.

Today, Embrace the New You wants to honor our Resilient Reels Spotlight,  Shannon’Alise. Shannon is someone who embodies resilience not just in words, but in action. Through challenges, growth, and transformation, she has chosen to evolve, not retreat. Her journey is a powerful reminder that every step forward, no matter how small, is a triumph.

Shannon’Alise is an impressive 34 year-old former athlete, retired Veteran -Sergeant for the Army National Guard, Life Coach, Certified Personal Trainer, Professional Body Builder, and Mental Health Advocate. Shannon, originally from Tallahassee, Florida and is back residing in Florida has learned through these different roles to find and strengthen her Voice. 

As you look at Shannon’s photos and read her story, you would never believe that this strong, independent Veteran and Body Builder was once bullied and needed to find her inner strength and her Voice. 

Why does the ETNU Resilient Reels Spotlight best fits Shannon’s journey to Embrace the New You? 

Shannon gets the resiliency label a lot. “It’s about perseverance for me – I believe I need to keep going and not give up,” she explained. I was taught at a very young age during Pre-School how to use my words. This very important life lesson was put to use starting my first day of elementary school and followed me throughout all of my roles and careers in life to this day and has allowed me to overcome many obstacles and challenges along the way,

Can you please share about your journey to Embrace the New You? 

My childhood was very active but pivotal point at the age of 5. I experienced a plethora of bullying, losing my voice, and shutting down. My mom’s ex-husband was verbally and emotionally abusive to both her and me. After about 3-4 months, we got out of that experience –and this is when I began to learn to find my voice. I started in sports to stay active and my mom didn’t allow me to isolate myself. 

On my first day of 1stgrade, a girl sat down at a table – calling me stupid, saying I won’t have any friends. Brushed it off – mom taught if they don’t hit, don’t hit back. If they hit, you can defend yourself. Not going to let her ruin her 1st day experience. I wasn’t afraid but the 2nd & 3rd day, I experienced the same girl saying the same words. I finally stood up for myself and asked her why she is treating me this way. The girl regurgitated the same thing and I started crying. That’s when I met what would become one of my new childhood friends, Jacoby. He was an overweight boy who stuttered – and despite his stutter, he came and stood up for me. The girl gave him the same response that she had given me. 

One day, the bully’s mom came to school and her mom began to say to her daughter the same things her daughter said to me! It was then that I realized that this girl had experienced similar verbal abuse that I had from my mom’s ex-husband, and some people lash out at others as they have been treated, while others like me find the need to find my voice to speak up for myself. I was grateful to know that my mom and family love me.

As I was getting older, through elementary, middle school, and high school, I continued experiencing bullying and intimidation, whether due to reasons such as typical adolescent hazing and jealousy. I stayed focuses on my sports – track, flag football, and basketball. During high school, there was an issue with a pregnant girl’s boyfriend because he showed interest in me. This led to words being exchanged, other kids getting involved, wanting to fight me, and lies being told that I hit them. I had to stand up for myself. I was known by the teachers and principal for my sports, and for being a good student with good grades, and taking AP classes. I told the principal what happened and the reason for me speaking up for myself.

I sprained my ACL over the summer going into my senior year. This messed up a lot of things. I had to completely stopped track and pivot. I started college taking general studies. However. this injury caused me to rethink my goals. I wanted something different to accomplish, so I joined the military. I was sworn in at age 18. I worked summer jobs including the RSP program (Recruit Sustainment Program). My brother-in-law helped with the process and made sure to teach me that I needed to have a contingency plan entering and exiting. I was shipped off after first semester in college for 5 months of AIT (Advanced Individual Training) and basic training at my assigned station in Marianna FL. I wanted to sign up for as much as possible. First thing was air assault school – learning deficiencies and strapping cargo onto planes, a 12 mile rug march and repelling out of a helicopter. I was the youngest female to complete this course. In January, I went to basic training graduating the program in May and then went immediately back to college in summer took expedited courses including sociology, psychology, and anatomy toward earning my AA.

I wanted to change my job – I decided to transfer closer to my sister because she needed help with my nieces because her husband was in Afghanistan. The Pinellas Park 53rd BSB Alpha company’s colors were about to go into an inactive state. They needed a Sargeant to improve the physical fitness scores of the soldiers. I got promoted on Hurricane Duty, so I was hitting the ground running. I wiped out everything that the old Sargeant did, and I created and revamped fitness test. During this time I was also studying to become a personal trainer and ended up working at Crunch. As a Sargeant and now a personal trainer, I would counsel the soldiers one on one giving suggestions for eating, sleeping, and exercise.

Shannon’Alise was top of her class. As a Certified Personal Trainer, she could help soldiers with some things but not everything. She needed to be someone to lead by example whereby they could visually see somebody maxing out, a woman in uniform maxing out and beating men. 

Shannon was definitely that visual example – she was in school, working, and body building – she never made an excuse! Despite the fact that she did not have the master fitness qualifications, Shannon was selected to be a Sergeant for the Guard’s Wellness Camp. She learned to the tee about time management – small but vital moving part. Wellness camp was a breeze – she taught classes by being given a book, studied the night before then would teach the class. Shannon did so well that she was asked to come back. Shannon noticed some soldiers that were having difficulty passing the physical fitness test were mentally down. Shannon was told she should be a motivational speaker because she realized this was due to mental blocks such as how they were negatively spoken to by past leaders, home life issues, and internal destruction. She taught them to make a mindset shift. The impact Shannon made on the soldiers had Sgt. Eaves ask her to come back and lead again. 

Shannon wanted to instill how she was taught to others. Some of the soldiers that went through her wellness camp became Sergeants and contacted her to thank her for the impact she had on them. Resilience is key. 

For Shannon during her time in the military, basic training was a pivotal moment. They were looking for top soldiers who maxed out on PT test. Shannon had the highest score. She was going to be one of the leads for the platoon. In that moment, although she wanted to hide in the back, Shannon didn’t have any choice. She needed to be a leader. Her new duties were to be out early, stand in front, call your platoon out, call the count, call any injuries or sick calls, lead marching, and call cadencing. Her finding her voice was going to be put to the test. 

Shannon is a planner. For this detail, she selected her favorite cadences. This experience was forcing her to speak and use her voice. The winds picked up so they didn’t hear her the 1st time, so they restarted and she had to begin again. She was being watched. She knew she couldn’t mess up and that there are no short cuts. Shannon has to use her voice. Her superiors noticed that Shannon was good with that. She was selected to call at graduation. The message was passed to her new Sergeant that she was to be used for cadence and marching. This opportunity allowed her to get into a leadership position. This was attributed her using your voice and speaking up. “You don’t have time to think sometimes. When it’s time to get the job done, it’s time to get the job done. I need to speak thru chaos and get the job done, “Shannon explained. 

When taking a night course, she had to be vocal and do things you didn’t do in basic training. She had to make sure she had a mentor. When they test all the females, they make sure each of them knows how to carry yourself as a woman in uniform. Her mentor came to Shannon often and told her that she needed to speak up. She was told she needed to either speak up or no one will take you seriously. Certain Sergeants would lose respect of their soldiers for just this reason. Having your Voice was everything.  Shannon learned she need to slowly lead by example but still keep class and poise. She did get challenged and undermined but she made sure she executed and didn’t give them a reason not to respect her. 

Military taught her mind over matter, problem solving and solution-based mindset. After eight years total in the military, Shannon decided she wanted to do something different. 

When Shannon needed to transfer into civilian status. Shannon didn’t let a lot of things bother her. She doesn’t like drama, negativity, and would select a problem-solving approach to things. 

Shannon is an ambitious person, who is humble in her accomplishments, she recognized she needed to be around like-minded people, not necessarily in the same areas but rather in mindset only. She is a social butterfly, a people person. Shannon met people from all around the world – different race, ethnic, and religious backgrounds were not an issue. She doesn’t see color. It’s about the energy people give off and if they people who move forward. Shannon wanted to pair herself with people who lead with integrity. That’s how she approached finding like-minded people. growth compassion room to rebuild. A lot of people in the civilian world didn’t have eyes on them like she had in the military, Shannon wanted to find those that were self-accountable.

Shannon is a curious person, she was always open if there was something new, interesting or intriguing that she will try it. Shannon recognized that she needed self-improvement. Nothing is taboo to her. Therefore, she took classes with Chrystal offered which took her on a Healing Journey. Would it work? Would it be ok for her clients to go to?  Grounding and healing are often seen as taboo subjects. Shannon wanted to challenge herself to unlock different parts of her. Since she was going to be around other body builders, she needed to confirm that she deserves to be there. She did not need to convince herself that she belongs, but rather to encourage herself to see it through. Shannon needed to know if she can complete this task. 

Shannon was naïve in a sense. She leads with love. Sometimes that overshadows people’s intentions. What is behind the smiles? Shannon took the tools she learned during her Healing Journey classes led by Chrystal and applied them because she didn’t want to lose herself. She felt it necessary to use these tools to grow. She would find herself asking, “Do I need to engage or do I need to find a new environment. It looks good, sounds good, but it isn’t always good. Using my new tools, how do I see it?” Shannon likes to go inward before going outward. She asks, “why am I feeling this way? Is this a me issue?” These are excellent questions she has learned to use, and was a very helpful tool to transition to civilian life. 

Where did you find your strength to get past your challenges?

There are quite a few things that help me find strength to get past my challenges and stay positive. First, I learned strength and resilience from my mom. She was pregnant at age 15 with my sister but she still went back and finished high school. My Mom went back to school when I was in the military and got her AA degree then her Associates of Science degree. My Mom is now one of the top teachers in Tallahassee! I’m very proud of her and grateful for the strength she has shown me. 

I also find my strength in my mindset. Knowing that there are certain things I cannot pick such as family, but I can pick my friends and social circles are key. Not allowing me to get stuck is crucial. Knowing when to PIVOT is essential! I recommend that you collect information before you make a change, whether it be about something to do, a way of thinking, or changing environment. If you are not pivoting, you are staying stuck. I have room for opinions and ideas to come to fruition. I always look to see where my skills can be set to serve. 

Inner strength is another key. To have inner strength, I use prayer and meditation. This especially helped during Covid, because it became intentional. For me, it’s not about building a connection with God but rather it’s about mediation and prayer. I need to discover every way to help get grounded as much as possible. I always try to focus and hone in on my skills more. I was not good at meditation, but now I can meditate for an hour.

I learned my dysfunction and negativity about not healing and about not healing trauma. Because of what I learned about myself, I was able to help my clients to pinpoint it in less than a month different issues like why they overeat or over drink, what causes their depression, how to utilize methods of meditation. 

What was your biggest obstacle/hurdle to overcome in your journey to Embrace the New You?

One of my biggest obstacles was depression because I am one who is looking to serve and I needed to find things I could do that are about servitude in what I am doing. Volunteering at the Recruiting Booth is one way I found a sense of serving. Going to posing seminars with my coaches, there is no sugar coating. I see where I can set up to meet people and teach people. Sometimes you need to go through a series of tests and cycles. I have to look inside at my self-growth – why do I end up in same cycle? How do I get out? I knew how to get out of my depression.

Shannon took time and noticed that she wasn’t hugging and touching because of past trauma. She was surrounded by those that were same. But then she realized that isn’t who she is.  There was a solid year where she didn’t come back to visit anyone. During the healing journey, Shannon studied a lot. She dug up trauma from her childhood so she could now understand why she thinks the way she does, why she did not stand up for herself, and needed to figure out how does she get out of it. “I took the veil off – we all have a veil that sometimes we don’t know it’s on. Some people were trying to keep another type of veil – where I can’t actually see who they are,” said Shannon. You need to talk about things, and don’t sweep them under the rug. 

One person who she thought was a friend wound up kicking her when she was down. Shannon realized that she needs to let go or reprogram her brain to let go of the toxic person she thought would be on the next chapter with her. Shannon learned that she needed to stop people pleasing, and stop trying to include everyone on her journey. 

Jealousy was another obstacle Shannon had to overcome. When she was over-qualifying and outranking whether in the military or in civilian life, it can create jealousy and sometimes people don’t know how to handle that. She needed to look for manipulators and gas lighters. She doesn’t need to be part of that club. Shannon is a Trailblazer. She often asks herself, “Who is God sending me to lead?” Shannon recognized that she needed to be around like-minded people. Her mom taught her never to be vengeful – never get back at someone. Shannon has learned to take energy -whether negative or positive and turn into something positive to help others gain energy. 

How do you stay positive? What advice can you give to others who are also facing their own challenges/journeys?

I have learned the importance to talk about my healing journey and to share the steps I took. Our Healing Journeys are NOT Taboo, but rather they are an important and integral part. I ask myself, “How do I go further instead of being stuck?”  Document it – not sharing with everyone but within myself and with a close group. I talk and share with my clients about my experiences. Ask what is wrong and share with them. It is nice for people to connect and understand that others have similar journeys and give positivity for a positive outcome. In depth, personal, nitty gritty conversations that need to be unpacked are key. Utilize all resources. My Healing journey was done around my talents, including poetry, art, and anything I was gifted at. I attend and participate in Open Mic nights to speak more. In 6thgrade, I was good at poetry. At 21, I wrote poems and did my first open mic. I restarted because my poetry has reached another level for a new sense of understanding of my soul. Recently, I entered Ashley Speaks Open Mic and was contacted to participate in a Poetry Slam. It helped to break my silence!! Not being social can cause someone to lose their voice and become mute. Staying with the organization and helping them with zoom meetings is very therapeutic. I need to be in a community with love and support and people that hear me. Certain others would misunderstand and undermine. Always focus on how to achieve things, but always stay humble. 

I forged forward toward getting into body building seminars as my next step to staying positive. 

Which ETNU design (Sun, Turtle, Sunflower, Phoenix, Butterfly) resonates most with you? Why?

The Phoenix ETNU design resonates most with me because it is my Zodiac symbol representing spiritual transformation and rebirth. It’s about healing from trauma. My journey has healed the old me but I didn’t recognize who I was anymore. The old me has died and I was gone. I have memories. I have a new clean slate, and have started over with a new foundation. I have been reborn. As a Harry Potter fan – I feel like the phoenix when it was turned into ashes and was then reborn into a new phoenix bird. As a Scorpio. it represents death and rebirth, and about constant transformation. I have started a business with a new body building clothing line. I am on a new journey – I am a new person, and I have evolved into someone new. I have Embraced the New You!

How has the mantra Embrace the New You – ETNU inspired you?

Add a little bit of fearlessness on top of the already added fearlessness. If you are not ashamed of who you are already – don’t be afraid of going into speak up and evolve higher than what you think you have. It is about a constant state of growth. We are never done evolving.

What is your favorite quality/strength about yourself after Embracing the New You?

My Perseverance – I always keep going. Executing and hitting the marks. Sometimes people don’t want you to become who you are supposed to become – but it is about always continuing toward your personal goals. I have stayed resilient and that helps me daily.

What is a fun fact about you?

I learned how to eat with chop sticks at age 8. I have a fur-baby nephew named Gizmo – a chihuahua that thinks he is a Pitbull. 

Also, my Shannon’ Alise clothing line will be launching soon!

ETNU celebrates real stories of strength, growth, and self-discovery. At Embrace the New You, we believe that clothing isn’t just about what you wear—it's about who you are becoming. Shannon’Alise is an amazing example of one who has turned challenges into change, setbacks into comebacks, and self-doubt into unapologetic confidence. These are the moments that shape us—and the reason behind every stitch, style, and statement we create. Shannon has found her voice and continues to use it. 

Remember, resilience isn’t just a buzzword. It’s a lifestyle in order to Embrace the New You. 

Join us as we celebrate Shannon Alise, a living testament to what it means to Embrace the New You.

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