Camille Shoals is a graduate student at Southeast Missouri State University, and this year she earned a prestigious recognition and professional opportunity as a Giffords Courage Fellow.
Courage Fellows are named for former U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and chosen from all over the country to learn how to meet with legislators in Washington, D.C., build networking skills, and work with other students from different backgrounds in a movement to end gun violence.
“I think this opportunity really gave me a chance to do something different,” Shoals said. “I think being able to channel frustration into something that can make a difference is very important.”
Shoals is from St. Louis, graduating from Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience before attending Southeast for undergraduate work. Her high school is neighbors with Central and Visual Performing Arts High School, where a mass shooting took place in 2022.
“My high school is right next to it,” Shoals said. “I have friends and family who go to that school, and that attack felt like an attack on me. I was looking for internships at the time and I saw Giffords on the internet.”
Shoals already had a busy undergraduate life. She was a political science and communication studies double major with a focus in rhetoric and public communication. She also was captain of the debate team and a TRIO McNair scholar, along with many other volunteer and extracurricular opportunities she took advantage of.
Now, she is in the middle of her graduate career. She works with Career Services on campus and is pursuing her master’s degree in public administration. When she came across the Giffords Fellowship, she found a perfect outlet for her academic work and her personal passions to come together.
Shoals joined 12 other Giffords Courage Fellows in Washington D.C. in June to learn how to take that passion to the professional level. It’s something she’s been involved in for a while, but getting the national experience was all new for her. With law school aspirations, her trip to the capital was invaluable.
But she has other passions too. Before law school, Shoals is thinking about doing advocacy or communication work for a nonprofit. She recognizes that gun violence often stems from other issues, and she wants more focus on access to healthcare, food insecurity, education, and domestic violence awareness.
“The reason someone turns to a gun is because they don’t have anywhere else to turn,” Shoals said.