Wedding Party: Shannon Dressler

Shannon and Rachel first met during orientation of Project Otzma, a 10-month volunteer program in Israel. Quickly they learned they shared many things in common including, their motivations for embarking on this life-changing adventure called “Otzma”, as well as their educational and career aspirations to pursue a graduate degree in social work.

After living on Kibbutz Revivim for three months with forty of their closest Otzmanikim (other group participants), they packed their oversized and overstuffed backpacks and headed to the “developing” city of Acre (pronounced Akko). It was in this tiny, less than luxurious apartment that Shannon and Rachel really began to develop their deep friendship. Through their intense, exciting, exhilarating, and some times challenging experiences together during this year, Shannon and Rachel grew to embrace each other’s strengths and limitations, and ultimately decide to live together in Chicago following the completion of their graduate programs.

Shannon and Rachel lived together for two years in Chicago. Both shared that besides their current partners, they could not envision living with anyone else. During the Chicago chapter of their friendship, both women supported each other through the trials and tribulations of their first social work jobs, being single, and becoming independent young women.

Shannon and Rachel also embarked on another journey together in February of 2003, as they traveled to Thailand together for a reprieve from the Chicago winter. Rachel recounts the excitement of experiencing a new country and new culture with such a dear friend. Not to mention, she remembers hiking in the mountains of Chaing Mai with an elderly Thai man and his big knife, as well as staying in their “budget hostel” in Bangkok where one could find a private room with coach roaches for a mere 5 dollars a night!

It was also during their time in Chicago that both Shannon and Rachel met their future husbands. Shannon and her new husband, Joseph, married in October of 2004, and currently reside in New York. Rachel had the honor of being a part of Shannon’s wedding party as well.

“Shan, although we are no longer in the same city, I am confident our friendship will continue to grow as we enter new chapters in our lives. I am so honored that you are a part of our wedding. Our friendship was born at such a defining point in my life. To me, our friendship symbolizes freedom, independence, beauty, and strength. Thank you for being my ‘wife’ while we lived together. I miss you. I love you.”