Title:
Full-time Faculty
Highest degree and school:
Master of Arts, Emergency and Disaster Management, American Military University
Teaching at SDI since: 2022
Shannon Shuman is a full time faculty in the School of Firearms Technology at SDI, where he specializes in the Advanced Ballistics and Handgun Specialist courses. A 30-year veteran of the US Army, Shannon holds a bachelor’s degree in information technology and a master’s degree in emergency and disaster management from the American Military University. Shannon also worked as an Emergency Management Specialist in Texas before joining SDI full time in 2024.
Shannon chose to teach at SDI because “I’ve always had an attraction to the mechanics of firearms, and the desire to share my knowledge and experiences with others. I have friends who shared with me their experiences completing coursework with other institutions, and SDI seemed to provide the most in-depth courseware to students – it just made me want to be a part of it.” He says his favorite part of teaching are those moments when a student learns something new and helpful: “When I teach reloading, more than half of my students proclaim in the first week how they have no interest in ever reloading. By the end, most are either on their way to reloading or make it clear that they now see the advantage of knowing the process and purpose.” He also enjoys reading through his classes’ discussion boards each morning and says “I get paid to talk about my favorite subject.”
Outside of the classroom, Shannon is a married dad of a teenaged son and two dogs. A licensed ham radio operator, his other non-firearms interests include watching westerns or war movies, collecting comic books, and learning: “I do pride myself on being a perpetual student. I don’t consider ‘time’ as any real constraint. I’m currently actively studying German, the next higher Ham radio license level, as well as a couple other small things.” Proper welding technique is on Shannon’s list of things to eventually learn. His idea of a perfect day involves some teaching and some tinkering on projects at his workbench.