On Friday, April 24, students in Shawn Gillen’s Creative Nonfiction class threw a surprise party for Gillen to celebrate his retirement. His official retirement is next year, but he’ll be on sabbatical, so he will not be on campus.
We asked members of The Round Table to talk about him. On behalf of The Round Table, thank you, Shawn, for your encouragement, insight, and dedication in your role as a professor (and unofficial advisor of The Round Table) at Beloit College. We’ll miss you and your vibrant stories. Good luck in this next chapter of your life.
“Throughout my whole four years at Beloit College, Shawn has been incredibly supportive, and the knowledge I’ve gained by being in his classes and being his advisee are some of my favorite takeaways from my time at Beloit. Here’s to going into the great beyond (places other than Beloit College) together. #graduatingandretiring – Ella Silva’26
“He (Shawn) is very well spoken and well educated. He always knows how to help students, whether it’s with feedback or extensions. I can tell he cares about what he does and his classes. I’m bummed I only get to take one in-person class with him; I would have loved to take more.” -Sonya Edwards‘28
“idk him but he seems cool” Lio Kammueller’26
“It was such a benefit to get one-on-one feedback with him, especially with the insights he has for everyone in our class. He’s a great professor and I loved getting to take a course with him (and also putting quotes from him into our back editions). Sorry for skipping class all the time.” -Claire Winter‘28
“I was diagnosed with ADHD last year, and it was while I was taking the first class I had with Shawn. He really understands what being a student is like, and gave me much needed grace and encouragement when I talked with him about what I was going through. I am so grateful for him and his continued kind words. Shawn – enjoy your trip to Ireland next year, and after that, your official retirement. Thank you for helping me become a better journalist and, less importantly, a better person.” – Viv Kopka’27
“Thanks for being a good sport about the mpreg shrine man. Really ‘preciate it. We got a kick outta that. Real good laugh. Thanks dawg.” – Elisa Turner’27
“A wonderfully funny, knowledgeable, and vibrant member of this campus community that will be sorely missed. He made me fall in love with the art of journalism and no one at Beloit has taught me how to write more interestingly and compellingly than Shawn. He was always a much better advisor than I was an advisee, and I am forever grateful to him for shaping what Beloit means to me. Irish pride!” -Cian McKeown ‘27
“Shawn has made such an impact on my academic career. He was the one that really saw the potential in my writing, which got me to declare for the journalism minor. I always appreciated the emails he sent about writing internships and where I could potentially publish. Even if he’s not around, I know he’ll be rooting for me to keep on writing. So if I ever make it big, I will definitely be thanking Shawn the GOAT Gillen.” – Cooper Rathmann’28
“Shawn has helped me find a love for writing, he’s been a supportive professor and he’s given me a lot of confidence in a field that I didn’t expect to find myself in. After a class with him, I want writing to have a bigger role in my life because he’s inspired me. He’s been one of the best professors I’ve had!” – Tigerlilly Powers‘29
Featured image: Cecilia Johnson’27
Additional image: The Round Table
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