Ian Shannon sat comfortably sitting on the Horseshoe with his empty Starbucks cup in his hand and his sunglasses on top of his head.
He's lived in Illinois, Pennsylvania, Florida, Illinois again, Germany and finally Greenville, South Carolina, Shannon has seen his fair share of the country and the world already, not just South Carolina. He's a big fan of all things South Carolina, aside from one state staple.
“I don’t like sweet tea,” he said, laughing.
When it came time to make his decision on where to go to college, USC was the only university that he applied to because of the international business program.
Now, the lone candidate for Student Body Treasurer and second-year global supply chain management and finance student, has completely changed his point of view. Shannon has been involved with Pillars for Carolina, Delta Sigma Pi and freshman council.
“Coming to college, I knew I wanted to get involved,” he said, “I wanted to branch out. I wanted to leave a legacy on campus.”
Shannon also likes longboarding and skateboarding. He’s also a self-proclaimed “Tarantino nut,” evidenced by the large “Pulp Fiction” poster hanging in his living room.
He's running unopposed for the treasurer position, but his platform has been fleshed out to encompass a wide variety of different goals for the next year.
“I just really want to take it as a chief of operations officer and in that sense to really bring some credibility back to the treasurer’s position,” he said.
Shannon hopes the title will eventually shift from treasurer to chief of operations officer, though he hardly expects that will happen during his term in office.
He's a second-year student, but he doesn’t believe this to be a disadvantage. In fact, Shannon feels it’s actually an advantage for the student body.
“Energy, first off. Because when you get to your senior year, you kind of get burnt out really easily with things,” he said. “Honestly, I think it’s going to help out a lot, and I’m a huge advocate of hard work. I don’t believe in talent, really. I believe in people working hard and getting to where they’re going because of the work and time and effort that they put into that specific job.”
Working alongside senators as the chair of the senate finance committee, Shannon feels like he has put in the hard work that warrants him ready for this position.
He hopes to focus the next year largely on minimizing the gap between the student body and Student Government he noticed last year, while encouraging more outreach and keeping his position transparent. And he'd also like to see an increase in student-run businesses.
His lack of opposition hasn’t stopped him from continuing to push himself.
“I welcome the criticism because I love challenges and I think one of my greatest strengths is competition,” Shannon said. “In the sense of you telling me I can’t do something well or I’m going to flake out, I’m going to prove you wrong. I will.”
This competitive attitude he hopes will push the treasurer’s role into the “up-and-up” where he thinks it truly belongs.
“The treasurer’s role is becoming more credible,” Shannon said.