Senior Spotlight: Miguel Shetreet

When senior Miguel Shetreet came to Exeter, he immediately found his passion: entrepreneurship. During club night of his prep year, he signed up for as many business-related clubs as possible. Now, in his fourth year at the Academy, Shetreet is a cohead of multiple entrepreneurship clubs and has co-founded a startup called STIKY with two of his close friends.As a day student from York, Maine, Shetreet grew up knowing Exeter’s reputation as an academically challenging place. After hearing from older schoolmates who attended Exeter about the opportunities available to students, Shetreet knew that he wanted to be an Exonian. “Exeter was always in the back of my mind and I knew that I really wanted to go,” he said. Shetreet expanded his interest in business through both Exeter Entrepreneurship Club his prep year and Exeter Launch Club, a similar business club he joined his lower year. He credits both clubs for shaping him into the person he is. “Being part of these two clubs has helped me become who I am today,” he said. “They gave me an inkling to the future of what I want to do. Exeter has opened up all of these doors for me.”Rather than focusing on topics such as investment or finance in these clubs, Shetreet felt attracted to startups and the idea of creating businesses.  “I learned a lot from these business clubs, but I didn’t feel as much of a connection as I did with startups and working to make social change in the world,” he said.After joining these clubs, Shetreet and two of his friends, seniors Evan Chandran and Harrison He, felt inspired to design their own startup. They created STIKY, an app that send reminders to the user about expiring food products and suggests recipes as ways to use them. By sending reminders, they hope the app will help prevent food waste in family homes.  Shetreet’s inspiration for the project came from his summer job at a macaroni and cheese restaurant in Portsmouth, NH. The restaurant labeled all the food that was prepped so that food could be used chronologically and produce the least waste. “It got me thinking about how I could translate this method of reducing food waste to an average person,” he said. STIKY has already won numerous prizes in the outside community, including first place at the regional LaunchX High School Entrepreneurship competition and the Emerging Entrepreneurship Initiative Pitch Competition. It was also selected as a Global Finalist in the MIT Launch Competition. Chandran commended Shetreet’s dedication to STIKY for the past two years.  “Always motivated and hard-working, Miguel is a constant source of energy and optimism. Our progress so far would not be possible without him,” he said.Outside of business clubs, Shetreet plays baseball for the JV team. In the spring of his lower year, Shetreet was originally enrolled in Challenge Fitness. However, after baseball coach Dana Barbin learned that Shetreet had some experience playing baseball before, he invited him to bring his glove in the next day. Through an unorthodox form of tryouts, Shetreet became a player for the JV team. “I had never thought about playing baseball because of schoolwork, but it is a big reason why I am happy here at Exeter,” he said. Shetreet is also a co-head of Exeter Jewish Community and is part of ESSO Basketball, ESSO Chess and ESSO Beach Clean Up.Upper and younger sister Gabi Shetreet looks up to Shetreet as a role model for his  commitment and work ethic. “He has an incredible drive to succeed in anything he puts his mind to,” she said.One aspect of Shetreet’s personality that adviser and Math Instructor Laura Marshall appreciates is Shetreet’s positive outlook on life. “Even in the most extreme circumstances of huge disappointment, his glass is always half full and he sees opportunities instead of obstacles,” she said.Senior Henry Pallatroni met Shetreet during a day student social his prep year, and the two now play basketball with each other frequently. “[Miguel] is an open and friendly person,” said Pallatroni. “He is approachable if you ever have questions or if you need help. He is always willing to talk with someone,” he said.Math Instructor Timothy Whittemore, who has taught Shetreet for three terms, also noted Shetreet’s welcoming nature and said that Shetreet always greets him on the paths. “He regularly checks in with me whenever he sees me or my boys around campus. He is enthusiastic and caring,” he said. Chandran believes that, although Shetreet has grown throughout the years and accomplished much at Exeter, his kindness has been a constant. “Miguel is … one of the nicest and funniest people I know, and he’s been one of my most loyal companions over four years at Exeter. He is a great friend and I’m thankful to have met him.”