College of DuPage Athletics

Aquatics manager Shawnee Ardies-Morales oversees the entire aquatics operations at College of DuPage, beginning in October 2022.

A long-time advocate of aquatic safety, Shawnee began her career as a part-time lifeguard and swim instructor in 2004 at Northeastern Illinois University, her alma mater. In 2007, she served as the university’s assistant to the aquatics manager, helping oversee 30-plus aquatics student-staff and aquatics programming, and assisted in the annual training of more than 75 Campus Rec student and extra-help employees. 

She served the City Colleges of Chicago (Kennedy King College and Daley College) as assistant director of athletics and aquatics, (2015-2019), where she directed the day-to-day operations of the swimming facility and learn-to-swim programming. She also worked on compliance, student-athlete eligibility, facility scheduling, and worked on an "academics first agenda"  designed to increase enrollment, retention and completion of degree or certificates within the athletics program.

Beginning in 2019, she became aquatics manager with Life Time Athletics, managing three separate labor budgets while generating revenue sources, building relationships with the community, offering aquatic programming, and ensuring safety and cleanliness of the facility.

She earned her bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies in 2011, a master's degree in Exercise Science from Northeastern Illinois (2014) and an MBA (Sports Administration) from Concordia University - Chicago (2018).

She and her husband Elias are the parents of Damien and Dante and make their home in Bolingbrook.