Shirley Bennett

Living... as a born again in more ways than one. The recently divorced, ultra-Christian mother of two has started a new life as a community college student.

Profession... business student at Greendale Community College. Shirley was invited by a fellow classmate, Abed Nadir, to join a Spanish class study group. Shirley and the six other members have become extremely close over their first semester at Greendale.

Interests... spreading the word of Jesus and, oddly enough, foosball. She is the best foosball player on campus, a relic of her old personality. She used to be a regular at the local bar, drinking the night away in the years before she found God.

Relationship Status… recently divorced. But she’s not wallowing – Shirley sees it as an opportunity. She says, “I wasted fifteen years of my life on a man who left me with nothing but stretch marks…and now it's time to get what's mine!”

Challenge... avoiding coming off as “holier than thou.” It’s uncomfortable for Shirley to be the only devout student at Greendale, and she’s finding it difficult to tolerate the other non-Christians in her study group. She criticizes her atheist friend Britta at the group’s Christmas part by saying, “Oh, look. Britta brought what she believes in: nothing.”

Personality... sweet, warm, and kind with a slight temper. She can’t help but to feel sensitive about the age difference between her and the other study group members, leading her to develop a sort of baking addiction.  She bakes too many cookies and cakes for people in the hopes of being accepted. Little does Shirley know that even though her friends won’t let her baptize them, they haven’t just accepted her – they’ve grown to love her.