Showcase Q&A: Unity’s Shaffer discusses coffee, friendships and how opportunity awaits at C-SC
The fourth annual Muddy River Showcase takes place June 21 at John Wood
Community College’s Student Activity Center. The girls game will tip at 2 p.m.
with the boys game to follow at 4 p.m. General admission is $10.
MENDON, Ill. — Less than a year ago, Chloe Shaffer had no intention of playing a college sport.
One visit to Culver-Stockton College changed that.
On Oct. 10, 2024, Shaffer, then a senior on the Mendon Unity girls basketball team, made the trip across the river to Canton, Mo., to check out the C-SC campus.
“It was one of my first college visits,” Shaffer said. “It was just kind of a day out of school for me. I was like, ‘Yeah, I’ll go look at the college.’ I ended up really loving it. I want to go into business, and they have a great business program.”
Shaffer mentioned in casual conversation she played basketball.
That set the wheels in motion.
“They took me to talk to Janette Burgin, their head coach,” Shaffer said. “They squeezed in a little time for me to talk to her about what it’s like to be on the basketball team. I told her, ‘I’m really unprepared because I had no intentions of playing a sport in college.’ She just talked to me about what their team atmosphere is like. One of their strong focuses is being like a family, so that really was something that was attractive to me about their team.”
Four months later, a moment Shaffer never thought would come became a reality.
“I was messaging (Burgin), and they came to watch the regional semifinal,” Shaffer said. “It was a super good game, and then they ended up offering me a few weeks later.”
Shaffer quit basketball after her freshman year at Unity and got talked into returning to the team as a junior. Now, she is set to embark on a journey that seemed far-fetched not too long ago.
“It was so crazy, but I know it’s a great opportunity for me,” Shaffer said “I’m so excited. I’m so blessed that I have the opportunity to begin with.”
Shaffer will represent Unity for the Illinois girls in the Muddy River Showcase. She discussed college life, her work at her parents’ coffee shop and more with Muddy River Sports Write Shane Hulsey in this Showcase Q&A.
Q: What are you looking forward to most about playing in the Showcase?
A: I’m really excited just to be playing again. I haven’t played since our season ended. I’m excited to play with all the people I’ve played with and against in the past. I think it will be a really good experience to just be on the other side of things instead of playing against these people that I’ve played against my whole life.
Q: Are there a few players in particular you’re looking forward to playing with?
A: I love Ella (Archer). She’s a childhood friend of mine. I know the girls from QND a little bit and the girls from Camp Point. I played with the girls from Camp Point and Lauren Hummel at another all-star game earlier this year.
Q: How did you and Ella become friends? What’s your friendship like?
A: Ella’s family is a family friend of my family. We have always stayed in touch throughout sports. That’s when we’ve seen each other the most. We actually shot trap together when we were younger. That was a good memory, but my favorite memories are just seeing her when we play each other. We got busier and we don’t see each other as much anymore.
Q: Do you still shoot trap?
A: No, that was just a one-time thing.
Q: What do you do outside of basketball?
A: I manage a coffee shop called The Daily Grind in Mendon. I’m going to be attending Culver-Stockton in the fall, so I’ve just been doing those workouts a lot. In high school, I did student council, class council, and I played volleyball and track my freshman year.
Q: Tell me about what you do the coffee shop.
A: I make schedules for people. I make menus for the coffee shop, and we do a lot of events. We are always at the Adams County Fair, which is really fun for me. It’s a big deal in the area, and I love seeing everyone there. Other than that, I just kind of make sure everything is in line — all the groceries are getting ordered, everything is clean and up to standard.
Q: What’s your favorite part about working there?
A: I love working at the coffee shop because I love seeing everyone in the community, and I love seeing my friends. I feel like it’s a really calming atmosphere. Whenever my friends get to come in and get drinks, especially now that I’m graduated, I can still be in touch with people because I get to see them out and about.
Q: How long have you been working there?
A: I’ve been working there for three years.
Q: What are you looking forward to most, and what are you most nervous about when it comes to college?
A: I am both nervous and excited to meet everyone. I haven’t met any of my teammates, so that’s what I’m really excited for. I go the beginning of next week to start meeting some of the girls. We have a basketball camp. That’s what I’m most excited for — making new friends — but it’s also nerve-wracking because it’s a whole new place and all new people.
Q: What are your plans after you graduate?
A: Once I graduate and have my degree, I definitely want to continue helping out my parents. Like I said, I manage one of their businesses right now, so I think I’d really like to give back to may family, but I would really like to start something that’s completely my own that I built from the ground up myself. I don’t know what that will be yet, but I would really like to start my own business and come back to the community. I really want to travel, but I would love to come back to the community and give back in any way with whatever business I start.
Q: Do you have some ideas for business that interest you at the moment?
A: I would love to have started a gym, but my mom just did that this month. I would love to have a bakery someday or some type of café. I think that would be really cool. I think down the road, I’ll find something that I’m really passionate about.
Check out more of the Muddy River Showcase Q&As at the links below:
Payson Seymour’s Blake Schwartz
South Shelby’s Callie McWilliams
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