LFHS Alumnus Shawn Cheshire Receives U.S. Army Honor

Story and photos by Ronnie Zamora/LFCISD

Los Fresnos High School alumna Shawn Cheshire was inducted into the U.S. Army Women’s Hall of Fame during a ceremony Wednesday in Washington, D.C.

Cheshire, a 1994 graduate of Los Fresnos High School, was inducted because of her performance as a U.S. Army woman veteran at the 2016 Paralympic Games in September in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She has a visual impairment.

Cheshire, 41, competed in Tandem Paracycling events at the Paralympic Games. She lost her sight in 2010 after a work accident.

The Army Women’s Foundation recognizes the extraordinary achievements of Army women and those who support them. The 2017 Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, “Honoring Service and Preserving History” recognizes Army women who have distinguished themselves on the battlefield and in service to America.

The Army Women’s Foundation Hall of Fame Awards are presented to women who have contributed extraordinary service to the Army or the Armed Forces and any individual who has made exceptional contributions to women in the Army or the Armed Forces.

As a helicopter armament specialist in the U.S. Army, Cheshire served eight years during the Persian Gulf War before being honorably discharged at the age of 25.

Shawn’s father, Rocky, is employed by the Los Fresnos CISD.

The following is an excerpt from a story about Cheshire featured on a website by ESPN that can be viewed at http://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/14092339/mothers-daughters-sisters-veterans.

“She sustained several injuries during her years of service, but it was an injury she suffered in 2010 that changed the course of her life.

A single mother of two girls, Cheshire put herself through school after leaving the military and entered public service as an EMT and paramedic in Boston. Then in December 2010, while loading a patient into the back of an ambulance, she slipped on ice, hit her head and suffered a closed head injury that resulted in a traumatic brain injury and eventually the total loss of her vision. Within two years, she had lost her driver’s license, her job, her independence and her will to live.

I started running half-marathons. In September 2013, I was sent to the Olympic training center in Colorado Springs and had my first experience on a tandem bicycle. I showed up to the camp with such a bad attitude.

All I could think about was how difficult my life had become. I had to make a decision to go home or change my attitude and realize I don’t have to sink. I had to have a goal. I needed a focus that would consume my days.

I was told by many people that I could maybe make it to the 2020 Paralympic Games, but Rio in 2016 wasn’t feasible. Don’t tell me I can’t do it. Rio became my goal. I changed my diet, trained six hours a day and worked hard. In March 2014 I was paired with a [bicycle] pilot and we raced our first road race that April. We won silver. I was officially on Team USA.

When I joined the military at 17, I was very much a kid. There were moments when I didn’t think I was going to make it in basic training and I wanted to quit. But I didn’t. Now I understand the growth in that. If I made it through basic, I can do this, too.”