Dynamic David Shepley
Each year, there are always students who seem to do everything. From clubs, to sports, to arts, to academics, these Exonians demonstrate the “model Exonian” label, yet somehow find ways to remain humble and reserved. Senior David Shepley is one of these students.
“David’s an amazing guy,” senior and ESSO co-president Raghav Bhat said. “He’s laid back, yet assiduous and calm, while also passionate. More than anything, David is a great leader because he listens to others and doesn’t superimpose his views.”
Alongside Bhat, Shepley works as a president of the Exeter Social Service Organization (ESSO) which encompasses over 70 clubs on and off campus. This huge responsibility calls for a strong leader’s presence, which Bhat credited Shepley with.
Community service coordinator, Elizabeth Reyes, commended Shepley’s mediating role in the ESSO board, saying that he makes sure everyone’s voices and opinions are heard. In addition, she noted his ability to lead by example by stepping out of his comfort zone and leading by example at community service projects.
“David’s dedication and energy is helping to make ESSO a stronger organization for the community in which we live,” Reyes said.
ESSO is not the only organization Shepley leads. He is also a Phillips Church steward and leads Sunday service every week behind Reverend Robert Thompson. There, like in the ESSO board office, he is known to be a compassionate leader.
“He’s a really trustworthy person, and I feel like he always works his hardest to help others,” co-steward and upper Jada Huang said. “He’s a very qualified leader.”
When Shepley is not in the church or in the ESSO office, he can be found out in nature, often with his Exeter Wildlife Conservation Club (EWCC). As expected, his strong leadership runs through this club as well.
“David’s a great leader; he listens and cares about others ideas and leads by example,” EWCC member and upper Mel Duenas said. “As an EWCC cohead, he shows a sincere passion for what he does and that transmits throughout the room.”
Furthermore, Shepley is also known for his proclivity to get things done in an efficient and persuasive manner. Instructor of science and EWCC club adviser Townley Chisholm notes that whether the club is “battling invasive knotweed or setting up a website to help an indigenous Huaorani in Ecuador run his eco-tourism business or running the Wildlife and Conservation Club, David is extremely effective at persuading other people to help him and at working hard to accomplish group goals.”
Although today Shepley resembles qualities of strong leadership and effectiveness, he said that he wasn’t always so confident. In his prep year, while his older brother, Joe Shepley, was an upper, he “clung to Joe and was known to many as ‘Joe’s younger brother.’” Also, Shepley noted that he didn’t “branch out of Wentworth” too often and remained a quiet person on campus.
“During my first years at Exeter, I wasn’t really outgoing or gregarious and stayed quiet for the most part,” Shepley said. “What changed that was the dorm life of Wentworth. The boys there are really like brothers away from home to me.”
Dormmate and fellow four year senior and proctor Graham Hazlett confirmed that the dorm life of Wentworth Hall contributed to Shepley’s growth as a leader.
“Starting from his lower year, David began to introduce himself to more people and became much more of a presence in the dorm,” Hazlett said. “Now, as a proctor and student listener, David is a role model for many in the dorm.”
In addition to the dorm life that helped Shepley become the leader he is today, sports such as water polo and swimming have enabled him to reach friend groups of a different variety.
“As soon as I arrived to school for training camp, I felt like the water polo team became my social circle,” Shepley said. “They invited and welcomed me to Exeter and Bear Polo.”
Today, Shepley captains the varsity boys’ water polo team and competes on the varsity boys’ swim team and varsity crew team, all of which further demonstrate this “model Exonian” label that he is dubbed.
To top it all off, Shepley works with art, too. In the spring of 2015, Shepley held his own photo gallery as part of the “Lush Life” exhibit. It featured stories and photos from when Shepley visited Tanzania and Namibia during the summer between his lower and upper years. The exhibition was titled “Interconnected: Community and Conservation.”
“It was not only a great way to educate the community about the importance of the conservation and complexity, but I also felt like it was a chance for me to inspire others to pursue their passions,” Shepley said.
Even though Shepley has all the athletic, artistic and academic accomplishments, the people around him have always emphasized the quality of his compassion.
“David’s empathy and consideration for other people allow him to lead by persuasion and suggestion,” Chisholm said. “People really like working with him.”
Chisholm is not alone in these sentiments; Joe Shepley ‘14 commended his younger brother’s outgoing nature as well.
“David is my brother and best friend,” he said. “He has such a fun and open side to him, whether joking around in the dorm or joining in a tribal Maasai warrior dance when he visited to learn more about conservation.”
However, personally, Shepley considers the Phillips Church community to be most important, as he turns to the church whenever he needs support during the school year. He emphasized that he finds beauty in Phillips Church because it has connected him to brothers and sisters he would not normally have crossed paths with elsewhere. Throughout the past three years and the fourth to come, he has relied on Phillips Church as a backbone for the rest of his vivacious Exeter life.
“These connections strengthen my spiritual walk with Jesus and have allowed me to praise God in a community, an opportunity now threatened in many parts of the world,” Shepley said. “Rev. Thompson has become my spiritual mentor in that he continues to model Christian love: something I look to incorporate everyday into the rest of my Exeter life.”