Dr. Shanna Peeples joined the Terry B. Rogers College of Education and Social Sciences in 2020. Peeples graduated from West Texas A&M University with a bachelor’s degree in English in 1997. In 2013, she received her master’s in education in curriculum and instruction with an emphasis on literacy from the University of Texas at Arlington, and in 2020, she received her doctorate in educational leadership from Harvard University. She taught middle school for six years and spent eight years as a high school English teacher. In 2015, Peeples was awarded U.S. National Teacher of the Year.

Peeples grew up in Borger, attended WT as a broadcast major, and wanted to work in journalism. It wasn’t until she was in the classroom that she knew where she belonged.

“I did a little bit of journalism, and I went to work at the Globe-News and was a reporter there for six years,” Peeples said. “It wasn’t until I was in classrooms covering like students because my beat was like Amarillo schools, and I thought I’d rather be working with kids as I’m writing about kids.”

Outside of WT, Peeples enjoys cooking, creating the perfect music playlist, reading nonfiction books and watching movies.

Peeples challenges herself in the kitchen to use what she has before going to the grocery store. Her favorite dish to make is green chili chicken enchiladas and her grandmother was a significant influence on her in her life.

“My grandmother, she was huge in influencing me. She raised me mostly, and from the time I was teeny tiny,” Peeples said. “I really sort of apprenticed her forever for years and years, and she’s now past, but there are a lot of her recipes that when I cook them, it helps me feel close to her.”

As a WT student, Peeples worked for a radio station as a disc jockey and learned all kinds of music. She creates playlists to match the vibe.

“I create playlists kind of like a frustrated DJ just to match whatever the vibe is, or the vibe that I want to create,” Peeples said. “So I’m really big on, like, duping the soundtracks of shows, too, that people like Mad Men; I have a Mad Men playlist that is inspired by this show.”

While Peeples enjoys watching movies, her least favorite is scary movies. She watches serious films that her family says she ruins because they are depressing and serious. Her family has a tradition on Christmas to watch and hate a Hallmark Christmas movie they have watched for years.

“We just roast it like crazy, and you think we’d get tired of it after this many years, but no, it’s a whole thing,” Peeples said.

Peeples is a huge nonfiction reader. She enjoys learning about different topics. Her favorite nonfiction book is “This Is Not Propaganda” by Russian author Peter Pomerantsev. She feels she has traveled there when she reads books from other countries, too.