Shawn grew up in Mitcham, South London, to Caribbean parents (Barbados & Guyana) who came to the UK in their teens. From the age of 5 he wanted to be an Architect. Mum & Dad weren't educated but they were hard workers, working multiple jobs and they tried to fan the flames of his interest in drawing, buying him books and materials to play with - from a young age he wanted to shape the world around him. In school there was no industry network for him to tap into which meant that despite his keen interest, Shawn couldn't get work experience with an architectural practice. He did however, manage to get some work experience with Lambeth Council Maintenance Team and got to go on a building site for the first time with his uncle. Around the age of 13 he started going to youth clubs in Mitcham to stay out of trouble. The club brought in guest speakers who had grown up in Mitcham and succeeded at University. This gave him his first insight into what it might be like to go to university. Inspired by this, Shawn stayed at his sixth form, and although he did well, he found that staying at school, rather than going to a sixth form college hindered his development of independence and time management and he wasn't as prepared as others who went to college, so university was a bit of a culture shock. 

Shawn attended the University of Portsmouth. His 1st year was a struggle and he failed 2 units which he had to re-take over the summer. That was a pivotal moment as he got 1-2-1 time with the Head of Year who helped him understand the Architects Registration Board or ARB requirements, objectives and outcomes. Having mostly got thirds in first year he quickly improved and was awarded mostly firsts in second year and third year. His peers weren't kind to him, they used to tease him and laugh at him when he presented his work but he persevered and realised that "Hard work beats talent if talent doesn't work hard" a mantra he lived by at University - in the end, he got a 1st! People underestimated him but he succeeded, his way.

During his undergraduate degree in Portsmouth he was fortunate enough to get a loan and had some parental support. He reduced his costs by staying in private accomodation as well. Before he took his masters he took 3 years out to save and worked odd jobs and applied for bursaries. He managed to save £5k but still needed £15k for the 2 year course. Shawn managed to secure a maintenance loan and was able to start the first year of his masters (Part II) at the Royal College of Art (RCA) in London. He continued to apply for bursaries, loans and scholarships so that he could do the second year but didn't succeed. His tutors at the RCA helped him out a lot with interview and portfolio prep for scholarships and days before he was due to start his second year he managed to get a Scholarship from the RIBA for £6k and a bursary from Bluprint for All (Formerly the Stephen Laurence Trust) for £2k. As a result he worked super hard to be there and learned a lot from the people in the institution, becoming a student rep and winning the Architects student award in 2020 and the RIBA rising star award in the same year for his work.

In 2019, whilst still studying Shawn founded POoR Collective - Power Out of Restriction Collective with 3 others Larry, Matt and Ben. They all felt passionately about the positive impact youth clubs can make, having experienced the benefit themselves and felt they needed to respond to the fact so many have been shut down by creating one themselves. They credit youth clubs with helping them learn a lot of soft skills like public speaking and working well with others through playing football, basketball, performing arts etc. Most of their friends who attended youth club ended up on a good path in life. With the help and support of Neil Onions, founder of Beyond the Box Shawn, Larry, Matt & Ben have participated in various design competitions and built small pavillions and installations in community spaces and hosted events.

In 2022, Shawn started and completed his Part III accreditation at the Architectural Association in London to become an Architect whilst working for HTA design - 11 years after starting his journey. He completed it at the same time as Larry and Ben and learned how to better run POoR Collective by using principles they learned whilst doing their Part III. He now has a much higher profile after his recognition in 2020 which he hopes will help him win more competitions and grow POoR Collective's profile over time.

In September 2023 Shawn along with Larry, Matt & Ben won the Emerging Design Medal at the London Design Festival 2023 for their work with POoR Collective. Read the write up in the Evening Standard here.