Discovering Freedom: Prison Bars to Bar Exam

Shannon Sullivan has been on both sides of the law — she’s been convicted by it, and she’s been freed by it. With that unique experience, she plans to practice it on behalf of others.

In May of 2026, Shannon traveled from her lifelong hometown of Phoenix, Arizona, to Virginia Beach, Virginia, to receive her Bachelor of Arts in Law at Regent University’s Commencement. “Being able to walk across that stage was a full-circle moment that represented faith, perseverance, healing, and God’s grace throughout my journey,” she says.

But she’s not stopping there. This momentous achievement is an important milestone toward Shannon’s ultimate goal: to become a family law attorney.

If Shannon’s story had a soundtrack, it would be the song So Good by We the Kingdom, one of her favorite Christian bands, released a month before her graduation. It opens like this:

From the bottom of addiction
To the cross that set me free
From the shadow of a prison
To the hands that reached for me
From where I was to where I am now
There’s only one way how

From the Bottom

In her early 20s, as a young wife and mother of two, domestic violence brought Shannon’s troubled marriage to an end. The traumatic divorce took a toll on her mental and physical health, and what began as a search for relief from chronic migraines and ovarian cysts became an addiction to painkillers.

During this vulnerable season, she followed old friends down a path filled with alcohol and drugs. At age 26, Shannon was arrested for her association with drug sales at her place of residence. Despite jail time, she returned to the same lifestyle.

A second arrest related to a roommate’s stolen vehicle put Shannon in a state prison for several months. “But it wasn’t enough to change my outlook, so I got out and did the exact same thing,” she says. She continued that life for several more years and had a third child.

Looking back, Shannon realizes she wasn’t as addicted to drugs as she was to codependency. “I always had to have somebody with me,” Shannon says. “I had to have validation from other people, and I wasn’t getting it from my family because I wasn’t doing anything right. It was hard, but nobody is to blame but myself, because I made those choices.”

Finally, Shannon’s third arrest in 2016 served as a wake-up call. At age 30, she was sentenced to three years in Arizona’s Department of Corrections. But it was her father’s sobering words that changed her direction.

“He said, ‘You have not done anything with your life in the last five years,’” Shannon remembers. “‘Your kids don’t know you. Take this time and figure out what can come out of it. Change it so you use this for a good opportunity rather than a bad one.’

“That really hit home, because he was right. I hadn’t been around, I hadn’t been doing anything productive, I couldn’t keep a job, and I was just bouncing from house to house. So, I took his advice. I wanted my life to change.”

The Way Out

In prison, Shannon intentionally aligned herself with people who “wanted to do better.”  She was permitted to work off-site in a job role where she learned accounts payable and payroll. With her parents’ support, she began working toward paralegal certification, which she completed after her release. She joined an inmate-led class for individuals who struggled with narcotics and completed the steps to recovery. To top it all off, she attended a weekly church service. “My life was very busy in there,” Shannon says.

When her sentence was complete, Shannon says God came into her life. “I had a Christian mentor who kept telling me to ask God to reveal Himself,” she says. “And I did. That’s when my whole life really changed. I always knew there was something greater than me, but getting there took a little bit. I let go of control and thinking that I knew what was best. I started seeing the blessings in life.”

A Newfound Purpose

While Shannon was incarcerated, one of her children lived with his father, one lived with Shannon’s parents, and her youngest was in foster care before being transferred to her father, who withheld the child from Shannon. After her release from prison, Shannon’s parents helped her hire an attorney. She filed for and was awarded joint custody in 2021, against all odds. Today, she has a healthy relationship with her daughter, now 12 years old.

That difficult two-year legal battle sparked something in Shannon. “My attorney showed me what the law looked like, how the system worked, and what it could do for somebody,” she says. “I fell in love with it. I wanted more than just my paralegal certificate.” So, she began searching for a school where she could earn a bachelor’s degree in law online while she continued to work full-time.

“My Christianity was building, so I wanted God in it,” Shannon says. “I chose Regent University because I wanted an education grounded in Christian values and biblical principles. I also noticed that a lot of the professors at Regent are in the profession. Judges and attorneys are teaching law classes. That really inspired me, and I didn’t find that anywhere else.”

Shannon started at Regent in the fall of 2022, finishing her degree in four years while working full-time, taking additional certification classes related to her job, and being a single mom to three kids.

As if that wasn’t enough, she also chaired Co-Dependents Anonymous (CoDA) meetings, founded several new CoDA groups, and actively served as a sponsor for CoDA, Narcotics Anonymous, and Alcoholics Anonymous. “I’ve done all those steps, so I make sure that I’m of service in that area, mainly because it helped save my life,” she says. “Through recovery, healing, and trusting God through adversity, I discovered purpose in helping others who feel broken or unheard.”

An Education of Eternal Value

During Shannon’s bachelor’s degree studies, she grew in every area of her life. “My experience at Regent impacted me deeply, both academically and spiritually,” Shannon says. “It challenged me to grow in confidence, strengthened my faith, and reminded me that God can use every part of our story for a greater purpose. My favorite thing was that the teachers were so willing to help. Even when you didn’t have any questions, they always made a point of letting you know they’re there.”

Regent also helped shape Shannon’s view of leadership. “I think a leader is somebody who is not afraid to admit if they’re wrong and be accountable, but also someone who is willing to lead by example,” she says. “People watch, and if you’re doing things that will better someone’s life and bring value to it, then you’re a leader some way, somehow.”

Shannon now knows the kind of leader she wants to be. “Having integrity in everything that I do and being willing to give back, even when it’s hard, not expecting anything in return — that’s the biggest thing for me because, at one point, I didn’t have integrity at all.”

But perhaps the most significant thing Shannon gained was an understanding of God’s Word. “When I first started at Regent, I had never really gotten into the Bible,” Shannon says. “I’d read verses here and there, but it was very difficult for me to intertwine what the Bible says with my schoolwork.”

During a general education course that focused on the book of John, Shannon saw Scripture in a new light. “I had an eye-opening experience — like, oh wow, there are a lot of things here that can correlate with anything in life,” she says.

That light-bulb moment deepened through class discussion posts and guidance from professors. “My biblical knowledge grew significantly over the last four years,” she says. “And when I didn’t understand, I had people that I could ask.”

During the final year of her degree plan, Shannon was baptized.

Commencement: More Than a Milestone

In recovery, Shannon came to understand the codependency that she had struggled with for so long. “Instead of me feeling proud of myself or doing the things that would make me or anyone else proud, I was just coping, using drugs and validation and trying to survive — and I wasn’t.”

But when Shannon received the email from Regent notifying her that she had met the requirements for her degree, she wept with pride. “It was such a grateful feeling,” she recalls. “There was a time in my life when I never imagined I would attend college, let alone graduate with a degree. Regent became part of my testimony because it gave me the opportunity to rebuild my life with faith at the center.”

On Commencement Day, though none of her loved ones were able to make the cross-country trip with her, Shannon found satisfaction in her own accomplishments and, above all else, in an audience of One — the God who brought her to this mountaintop through her lowest valleys. “When I look back on it, He was there the whole time,” she says. “I was detoured and put in prison because I needed to be off the path I was on. That’s God.”

A Future Redeemed

Shannon is currently preparing to take the Law School Admission Test and hopes to begin her Juris Doctor degree within a year. Her aspiration to practice family law includes a desire to represent people who may not be able to afford an attorney.

“My passion comes from my own life experiences and a desire to help others who are walking through difficult situations,” she says. “I’d like to give back what was given to me. I want to be there for other people, helping and encouraging them like my attorney did when I struggled to be patient.”

In the meantime, along with her educational accomplishments, Shannon is also celebrating 10 years of sobriety, her recent engagement, and a new hope for the future because of the Lord’s work in her life.

“My Christian faith has carried me through every chapter of my journey,” she says. “God met me in some of my darkest moments and completely transformed my life. My testimony is truly one of redemption, restoration, and learning that our past does not define our future when we place our lives in His hands.”

The song that opened Shannon’s story continues:

He brought me out of darkness
Into the light of day
Praise God, I am forgiven
By the power of His name
The Lord has been so good to me

Just as she’s been convicted and freed by the rule of law, Shannon has been convicted and freed by the love of Jesus Christ. Because of His goodness to her through it all, she will change the world.