It might be hard to believe, but Shannon Anderson, superintendent of Momence schools, struggled through high school.

He felt like a “lost soul” at the time and didn’t perform academically as well as he would have liked.

He was missing a sense of direction, but he found it in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Enlisting was the first real commitment he made entirely on his own.

“In hindsight, I can say that the Marine Corps had a large influence on who I am today,” he said. “... I came out of it much better than I went in and started completing all manner of things to my fullest potential.”

Military service

Anderson served almost four years, from Jan. 3, 1988 until Nov. 15, 1991. He was first stationed at Camp Pendleton in California.

In early 1991, the U.S. commenced Operation Desert Storm, the military operation that liberated Kuwait from Iraqi invasion.

“It was an overwhelming show of United States military might,” Anderson recalled.

At that time, Anderson received orders to go to Okinawa, Japan, while he watched other service members he had gotten to know all head to Iraq.

It was disappointing news. He wanted to join the hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops in Iraq, where he could put his past three years of military training into action.

“I wasn’t given that opportunity,” he noted.

It seems that path wasn’t meant to be.

While on leave at home in Kankakee, he started a relationship with his now-wife, Beth.

And he would get to help in Iraq after all.

Anderson was given the opportunity to join a special unit for a humanitarian mission as Desert Storm was winding down.

The special unit went to give food, water and fuel to the Kurdish rebels, who had been forced into the hills of northern Iraq, and tell them they could emerge from hiding.

Turning point

Anderson wasn’t sure what he wanted to do with his career when he returned home.

He followed his wife’s lead.

Beth, a Kankakee school teacher, was working on her master’s degree at Illinois State University.

Using the GI Bill, he was able to join her and attend with free tuition. He studied history education and began excelling in school.

He still treasures his ISU acceptance letter, which to him symbolized a turning point.

“To thrive in a structured setting, to learn about what it takes to be self-disciplined, to learn how to meet and achieve goals – those are all things that I learned while I was in the service,” he said. “I was able to put those things into practice when I went to school.”

Anderson started his career teaching seventh-grade social studies at Reed-Custer Middle School.

“I was able to bring some of my real-life experience into the classroom,” he noted.

Anderson shared personal photos and stories from his time in the service when teaching about the Gulf War conflict in U.S. history.

He continued to draw on his military experience as principal of Momence High School, where he focused on building relationships.

“I tried to be as compassionate and empathetic to kids as I could, while at the same time, having some firm expectations,” he said.

Veterans Day importance

Anderson was asked one year if he would speak at a Veterans Day assembly at Momence Junior High School.

After giving his speech, Anderson and the junior high principal wanted to build upon the event.

About 10 years later, the annual assembly continues.

Each year, Momence students hear from a veteran keynote speaker and engage in Veterans Day activities and lessons throughout the day.

This year, the day will center on mental health, especially as it relates to veterans experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder.

Anderson feels especially proud when local veterans stand for recognition during the event.

“It almost brings me to tears when I see the Korean veterans and the Vietnam veterans finally, in my opinion, get some of the recognition that they deserve,” he said.

For Anderson, serving others didn’t stop when he left the military. He is still seizing every moment possible to teach, to learn, and to help others.

“That’s all I’m trying to do,” he said. “Take the things that I learned, the qualities as well as the actual experiences, and share them with others and try to make the world better.”