William Li: Will Power

Senior William Li is a powerful presence on campus. As the children’s coordinator for ESSO, a co-head of Tutoring for Kids, a four year cross country and track athlete, a Discipline Committee member, head tour guide and winner of the prestigious Gavit Cup, Li, throughout his four years, has established a prominent role at Exeter. Despite having many titles, Li always finds time to spread joy on campus. With his classic bright grin and uplifting words, Li has impacted a great deal of students during his time here.Yet Li wasn’t always so confident. Before arriving to Exeter his prep year, Li wasn’t convinced that he could easily talk to others and make friends. Determined to change this, Li joined Exeter’s tour guides in hopes of being able to meet strangers and feel comfortable talking to them.“I was definitely a shy kid coming from middle school, so I felt like I kind of wanted to break out of my shell a little bit, so I think that touring was a way to meet strangers and try to have a conversation with them under the context of touring,” Li said. Eventually, Li’s tour guide position turned into a head tour guide title, due in no small part to Li’s undeniable leadership and amazing spirit.Evidently, this attempt worked, as Li’s endearing personality and strong sense of integrity is widely recognized around campus.In all walks of his Exeter life, Li excels. Whether it be in the discipline committee, on the cross country trails, or on campus giving a tour, Li shows strong leadership and a genuine good spirit. These traits are displayed when Li takes part in his ESSO club, Tutoring for Kids.“Ironically enough, I actually tutor an adult in Tutoring for Kids,” Li said. “I got assigned to him my lower year, because they ran out of kids when i signed up. He’s a great guy; his name is Marco and I tutor him in math.” Li enjoys that through his tutoring, his own school performance improves.“We do the Exeter curriculum, which is cool because I get to review for math.” Through his club, Li has helped many kids learn at a higher level, and even aided his own tutoree, Marco, in learning about higher math concepts. “[Marco] is a very curious guy. He’s about fifty, and he doesn't really need to know calculus, but he wants to because he never got the chance to learn about it when he was in high school.”Li began working with the Discipline Committee when a cross country teammate persuaded him to run for the position.“I initially didn’t want to run for DC because I didn’t think that I was going to be any good, and I didn’t think that I had enough time,” Li said of his thought process going into the election. “But Thomas Clark convinced me, or rather forced me, to run.” Li went on to detail his experiences with the committee, speaking on how rewarding it has been to help students in trouble, and to give them the benefit of the doubt. “In a DC case, everyone is really on a level playing field, so the students on the committee can really have some impact. So what you say really does mean something,” Li said.Senior Emily Lemmerman has a high opinion of Li, both as a person and as a member of the discipline committee. “Will, both on DC and in class is incredibly thoughtful. He is not one to speak often, but when he does, it is a well worded, and much needed question.” Lemmerman spoke on Li’s ability to be humble, yet goofy, traits which bring much needed levity to often dreary Harkness discussions.Outside of academics, Li serves as cross country captain of PEA’s championship team. Li started his cross country career during his prep year. “I used to play soccer, since I was about five. But then I realized that I wasn't good enough to make a varsity team at Exeter, so I thought I would go ahead and try cross country,” Li said. “I stuck with it because the guys on the team were and are awesome people, and I think that people who run are very dedicated, and have a really good work ethic.”Cross country coach Brandon Newbould commented on Li’s position as captain and what he brings to the team. “Will has been a quiet leader since he’s been here, but he has strong leadership. I think it can take some time for people like that to figure out what kind of leader they are, but Will has figured that out. He’s confident in what he brings to the team, and he should be, and that means he leads confidently too.”Li talked in depth about the loyalty and brotherly bonds that run deep through Big Red’s team, and the impact that it had on him both as a runner, and as a student.“I think that the cross country mentality of not stopping, even when something gets really hard, transfers over to academics really well. If you struggle during a race, you don't stop, you keep going. So in an academic setting, sometimes you just have to push through a couple of really hard nights.”Li has also made a huge impact on his dorm, making friends and earning the title of proctor. Fellow Wemtworth seniors Josh Martinez and Kenny Berger spoke on Li’s presence in the dorm. “Will is easily one of my best friends,” Berger said. “He's a great guy to go to for advice or homework help or just a relaxed conversation. He's helped me through a ton, and I know as a proctor in the dorm he really puts others before himself.”Martinez agreed with Berger’s sentiment. “Willy's door has always been open for help, academic or otherwise. I can't count the number of times a homework study session turned into therapy in his room throughout the years-- he's one of the best listeners I know.”