Effie Shields graduated from the Indiana Normal School in 1906. She taught at high schools in Punxsutawney for five years, and in Pittsburgh for one year. During World War One, Effie Shields volunteered for duty with the YWCA, during which time she served as a canteen hostess in France at Camp Coetquidan, and at LeMans after the Armistice on November 11, 1918.