Spreading his wings

This past April marked one year since Ville Platte native Shannon “Shavon” Simien changed the direction of his life with his decision to enlist in the United States Airforce.
Today, as the 22-year-old, who is preparing for his first six month deployment overseas, reflects on his decision, Simien says he can’t help but be grateful for the “honor and integrity” he has been taught as an American soldier, and “the opportunities the military has given” him.
Until reaching this point in his life, Simien was just a kid with a goal to work in the criminal justice system and unaware of how to attain that goal.
“I didn’t plan on joining the military,” said Simien. “I had other plans for myself.”
Those other plans included a stint at McNeese State University, which came to an end after Simien, who was paying for school himself, said “college became too costly.”
Simien said, “I just couldn’t pay for school anymore, so that’s when I thought back to my uncle Arthur Sampson telling me if you join the military they will pay for you to go to school.
“I did JROTC all four years of high school so I knew some stuff about the military, and I was kind of ready for a new adventure. I wanted my school paid so I just got ready for the challenge that I knew the military would be.”
After dropping out of college, Simien enlisted with the Airforce and then headed to San Antonio for eight weeks of basic training. The hardest thing about this part of his journey, Simien said, was having to be away from his family. However, he also said this part of the experience shaped him into the soldier he needed to be.
“It was hard to be away from my family and friends,” said Simien. “The actual training we did was hard, but not being able to talk to your loved ones was more difficult then the physical work.”
Simien, who works as a cop for security forces in the military, then continued, “After a while I began to understand why you have to be away from your family. We needed to learn how to depend on the soldier by your side. They became my family.”
In September of 2017, Simien completed basic training and returned back where he awaited deployment. To pass the time he landed a job as a deputy with the Evangeline Parish Sheriff’s Office last November.
As a deputy, Simien has been tasked with being the security guard for Evangeline Central School; and it has been in this role that he has been reminded of his love for criminal justice. The position, coupled with his experience in the military, has also sparked a new desire for Simien, which involved being just the role model EC students need.
“Being at Evangeline Central has taught me that there are a lot of kids out there that don’t have a good mind-set or have that I don’t care attitude,” said Simien. “Seeing that has made me realize that I want to be able to help these kids by letting them know there is so much out there, and that life is bigger than just what’s in Ville Platte. I want them to look at me and see that you can be whatever you want if you put the work in.”
Simien, who ran into a little trouble after getting mixed up with the wrong people, said he wants to teach kids that he comes into contact with that they can prevent that from happening.
“I always had original gangsters to put me on game about the streets,” said Simien. “I found out the hard way by not listening to the right people. I want, to prevent any other kids from going through that.”
While working at the alternative school, Simien came in contact with students that he believes he may have really impacted in a positive way. Simien said, “I have talked to students about what their dreams are and I have tried to just be someone they could talk to. Through that, I believe there have been a few students I have had a big impact on because there are some that now talk about joining the military and they are doing good in school now.”
As Simien prepares to say goodbye to EC for a little while, the 2013 VPHS graduate says he can’t help but wonder what things will really be like when he deploys.
“I was wondering about what it would be like where I will be stationed so I looked up information about where we will be going,” said Simien. “The first thing I saw was something that dealt with a car being blown up, which made me kind of nervous about leaving.”
But even through the nerves, Simien says he has no regrets about joining the military because of what it has given to him.
Simien said, “I joined the U.S. Airforce a year ago for selfish reasons, but ironically enough, my time in the military has taught me how to now be completely unselfish. It has made me patriotic and has shown me why I should love my country. It has taught me to take responsibility for my actions, discipline and integrity. Because of what the military has given me, no matter how scary my mission may be, I will never regret my decision to join the Airforce.”