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By Alice Oglethorpe | Photography by Joshua Zuckerman and Laura Barisonzi

It’s been almost a year since she walked down the aisle to marry Shaka Ballantyne, but Shannon (Nigg) Ballantyne ’16 still can’t talk about her wedding without a huge smile on her face. “It was top of the line — absolutely stunning,” she says. There was no humidity, even though it was summer in Greenport, NY, the white roses and peonies in her bouquet never wilted, and everything went without a hitch for the bride, groom and their 145 guests as they partied the night away at Brecknock Hall, a restored mansion built in the 1850s.

About a year before the wedding, in June 2020, when Shannon and Shaka got engaged on a beach, they couldn’t have dreamed their big day would look anything like that. They actually had a much simpler affair in mind — one in the backyard of Shannon’s parents’ house.

But a week after their engagement, they heard about a contest run by a company called New York Tent. To enter, you had to work in health care — something both Shannon and Shaka did as radiologic technologists (a.k.a. X-ray techs) — and the prize was $40,000 worth of rentals for a tent, lighting and dance floor. Thinking how great the tent would work for their outdoor wedding, they decided to record a video to enter. In the video, they spoke about how they met, their need for strength working with patients who have COVID-19 and what winning the giveaway would mean to them. Then they had to wait.

LEARNING CONFIDENCE

Although Shannon and Shaka went to high school 15 minutes away from each other on Long Island, they hadn’t met yet when Shannon decided to make use of her parents’ Tampa condo and go to college at UT. She earned a degree in human performance with a concentration in exercise physiology, cum laude, and made the most of her time in Tampa by staying busy.

Shannon interned with the Hillsborough County Anti-Drug Alliance and volunteered with Feeding Tampa Bay and the American Red Cross. And, of course, she also dove into her studies — especially in the classes on biostatistics and epidemiology taught by Mary Martinasek, associate professor of public health. “One of the courses I took with her required us to go out into the community, so we went to areas of public housing that were becoming smoke-free and taught residents about how to stop smoking so they wouldn’t get evicted,” says Shannon.

One UT group research project — and the subsequent presentation of its findings — was particularly helpful in setting up Shannon for future career success. The project involved looking at bacteria growing on hookahs at bars around Tampa. The research team found that a lack of both regulation and sanitation protocols for these devices resulted in high bacteria levels — especially on mouth pieces. Their conclusion: These devices may help transmit infectious diseases.

As part of the project, Shannon helped present the findings at a conference in the Tampa Bay History Center in front of dozens of experts. And she nailed it. “Shannon was extremely organized and a team player,” says Martinasek. “The project she worked on really helped to bring the issue to the forefront in our community. She harnessed community stakeholders to explain and highlight concerns over this health issue.”

Later, when Shannon was applying for a radiologic technology certification program at the Peconic Bay Medical Center, she drew on that presentation experience as she stood in front of a 12-person panel and answered questions about why she deserved a spot in the program. It was a highly competitive process, with the school accepting only 12 students out of more than 70 applications. “The panel complimented me on how well I interviewed,” she says. “This also helped me become a secretary in the radiology department while I was in the program and got my foot in the door to be hired by the center as a full-time X-ray tech once I graduated.”

STRONGER TOGETHER

It was just before the start of her final semester at UT that Shannon met Shaka. They were both at a bar on Long Island and kept bumping into each other. “I told him I was going back to Tampa to finish college soon, but he asked for my number anyway,” she says. “We went on four or five dates before I left, decided we were serious after a few weeks, and he came to visit me in Tampa. That was it for us! He has a smile that lights up a room and is so kind and caring.”

Coincidentally, Shaka was interested in the same kind of career as Shannon. So he applied for — and got into — the same competitive certification program that she did. They spent two years there and then started work in the fall of 2019. They couldn’t have predicted how their work was going to change the following spring when COVID-19 hit.

Since most COVID-19 patients require a chest X-ray for signs of lung damage or pneumonia, or to determine the severity of the disease, Shannon and Shaka spent their entire days in multiple masks, face shields, gowns and double gloves. When they got home, they shared a unique bond over caring for COVID-19 patients. “It was devastating to see the way people were affected,” says Shannon. “But going home to Shaka, who was experiencing the same thing, meant we were able to relate to each other without having to explain everything we saw. We felt lucky that we were able to help the community and had jobs that put food on our table.”

FEELING THE LOVE

It was that positive outlook that helped Shannon and Shaka easily get the most votes on social media for their video entry for the contest and win. But the good news didn’t stop there: The contest organizers told her that they’d also won the services of a wedding planning company, Jill Gordon Celebrate, which normally charges about $35,000, and a jaw-dropping venue (that restored mansion). “We just looked at each other like, ‘oh my God,’” says Shannon. “It was an unreal feeling — we were so humbled to win in the first place, and then the other things on top of it, it was crazy.”

The only downside: The venue was already booked on June 12, 2021, the day Shannon and Shaka were hoping to tie the knot. June 12 is Loving Day, the anniversary of the Supreme Court legalizing interracial marriage. “Shaka is from Trinidad, and we are an interracial couple, so it means something to us,” Shannon says. It was something she even mentioned in their video entry: “It’s a victory that people can coexist together no matter what your race is or where you’re from. It’s something even more beautiful to celebrate.”

While Loving Day wasn’t available, another summer date was — July 31, 2021 — so they had it then. Eager to get planning, Shannon went with her mom and cousin to a boutique called North Fork Bridal Shoppe to go dress shopping. She found a gown she loved, which is when the owner told her she was donating half the cost of the dress and her veil because she’d heard about the contest. Shannon had a similar experience at a dental visit where she walked away with free teeth whitening.

On a visit to the venue, Shannon and Shaka discovered their good fortune wasn’t over yet. Jill Gordon and the Brecknock Hall staff had been working on a secret plan. The couple was asked to take a seat, and a huge banner was unveiled, listing more than 20 other companies that wanted to donate to their wedding. “We had three florists, three dessert companies, a catering company, hair and makeup, free massages, linen, stationary, a DJ for the cocktail hour — the list goes on and on,” Shannon says. “At the end, I think Shaka’s suit, a DJ for the reception, a photographer and a few other personal touches were pretty much the only things we had to pay for!”

It’s hard to put a number on it, but Shannon and Shaka likely received $150,000 to $200,000 worth of free goods and services. “It was overwhelming,” Shannon says. “Sometimes you just don’t have the words to express your gratitude. Our wedding was the best day of my life — I could relive it every single day.”

Luckily, their time as husband and wife has been just as wonderful. “Married life is so great,” Shannon says. “A lot of people say it’s the same after you’re married, but it’s definitely a blessing, and I know that God brought him into my life. We’ve had ups and downs, but we’ve strengthened in ways we didn’t know we could.”