After being eliminated from Oxygen's "Glee Project" in 2012, Auburn musical theatre graduate, Shanna Henderson has stolen Nashville's heart as a blossoming country music star.
The delicate Southern dialect, blonde hair and bright blue eyes could be misleading, but Henderson is nothing close to an antebellum damsel in distress.
Besides her powerful voice, the Real Town native has a fierce stance against cyberbullying and life experiences have proven her to be nothing short of a warrior for change.
"Bullying is so different now," Henderson said. "Everyone is hiding behind their computers."
In an age without iPhones and Twitter, the bullying Henderson experienced was upfront and more personal.
"The bullying I endured was about truthful facts," Henderson said. "People thought they knew my story, but they didn't know me. It was hard in the moment to overcome that."
Because of her mother's struggles with drug addiction, Henderson said peers degraded her by calling her a "crack baby."
The bullying, which began in kindergarten, reached a climax in high school when Henderson found the severed head of a deer in her mailbox.
With it, a note said, "You're next."
Henderson said that despite the torment, her grandparents encouraged her to avoid living like a victim.
"They said, 'You are not a victim, you will not be a victim, you will move forward and you will be okay,' and it really was their continued understanding that helped me do that," Henderson said.
Sharing her story on "The Glee Project", a reality show in which the winner appeared on the television show "Glee", set Henderson apart from her competitors in a way that revealed the drive and depth within the sunny blonde.
Henderson placed sixth in the show.
"One of the best things I learned at Auburn through BFA was about finding those experiences that really trigger an emotion and using those for your benefit and turning it into a positive," Henderson said.
When she isn't recording with famed songwriter Pat Alger, who wrote songs for Country greats like Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood, Henderson visits local schools to share her story of triumph over bullying.
"A lot of those kids that bullied me have apologized, and I've totally forgiven them because I guarantee to the victim of bullying--if you just continue to push through and ignore, you will come out on top on the other end--you will win," Henderson said.
As a motivational speaker, Henderson said she is occasionally approached by students who are being cyberbullied.
"I'll never forget a little girl coming up to me after hearing my story and giving her a little bit of hope--even if it wasn't enough hope to really change her perspective, it was enough to give her a little bit of light," Henderson said.
Her ability to seek out the positive in the midst of negativity, allowed Henderson to see her elimination from "The Glee Project" as an optimistic turning point in her career that solidified her goal to pursue a life in music.
"With one meeting and performance, Shanna Henderson got my attention," said Jennifer Bohler, Henderson's manager and publicist.
Also an Auburn graduate, Bohler has worked with artists ranging from Reba McEntire and Little Big Town to the Troubadour Kings.
"She understands things many people twice her age have yet to figure out. I think there is no limit to what she will accomplish in the entertainment world," Bohler said.
Alger, Henderson's writing partner and mentor, described his first songwriting session with Henderson.
"After an hour or so I also realized I was sitting across from a terrific soulful singer--the kind that has seen some things and survived but is still full of hope," Alger said. "She is obviously young but wise, full of crackling energy but also focused."
Henderson, who is also working on film projects and plans to write a motivational book, has kept close friendships with her Auburn Theatre classmates.
She has completed the pilot for Auburn grad, Kat Grilli's series "Broken Things," and lives with her best friend from her graduating class at Auburn.
She urged anyone seeking a career in the arts to maintain positive relationships by helping other artists.
Henderson is becoming known for her resilience as an artist and as a human being. When asked about it she replied matter-of-factly.
"You share what you are with other people," Henderson said. "I'd rather share a smile with someone rather than my pain."
Through it all, Henderson has proven to be a woman of substance, firmly rooted in the belief that any bad circumstance can turn out to a blessing in disguise.
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