Senior of the Week: Yash Shah

By  MADDIE BARRETT, CARLY CANSECO, MAGGIE KOTKOWSKI, and LOGAN LIU

Senior Yash Shah stands among all of his favorite things.

Erin Han / The Exonian

    At Exeter, Chipotle is usually the go-to Doordash food. Burritos packed with rice, cheese, and beans appeal to Exonians looking for a respite from Elm. For four-year-senior Yash Shah, from Mumbai, India, who orders Chipotle at least three times a week, it isn’t just food. It’s a lifestyle. “I think he spends one thousand on Chipotle a term,” upper Wilson Rhee estimated.

    Before attending Exeter, Shah was raised in Mumbai, India. “Over there, it was pretty monotonous. It was like, go to school, do nothing, come back from school, do nothing, sleep, do nothing,” he recalled. “It was the same cycle.”

    Shah’s mundane experiences in India have helped him appreciate the rigor of Exeter’s classes. “I took Quantum [Mechanics] last year, and that class killed me, but it was so fun,” he said. “I learned so much. It was so interesting because it’s so non-intuitive. It tells that there is nothing, nothing’s defined in the world and everything’s random.” Shah’s academic drive and enthusiasm are key to his success at Exeter.

    In addition to classes, Shah also values his teachers. “I think what defines the good class at Exeter is not, is not the class but the teacher. How fun the class is determined by how fun the teacher makes the class.”

    At Exeter, Shah’s bright demeanor is appreciated by many instructors. “I think Yash brings an enthusiasm that’s really hard to match and it’s pretty infectious,” Instructor of Science Summer Morrill noted. “He is someone who, when he gets excited about something and shares that excitement with other people.”

    Yash’s energy and positivity have attracted the friendship of many students. “He’s very energetic and I think if you meet him, it’s not hard to become friends with him because he’s very sociable,” upper Avaninder Bhaghayath shared.

    His presence is certainly noted in Soule Hall. “He’s been my roommate for two years, and is very motivating, in a charismatic way,” Rhee said.

    Dorm faculty also appreciate his support towards underclassmen. “Particularly for our new students, like our preps, having an older student who’s willing to just sit in the common room, talk with them, and play video games with them—it’s just really nice and makes them feel welcome,” Morrill shared. “He is a student who will always make sure we’re checking in on our new students. He would say, ‘Hey, have you talked to this person? They’re having a hard time with their math class,’ or ‘Hey, have you talked to this person? They’re really missing home.’ Having that older student who looks after the younger ones is pretty awesome.”

    “Yash is one of my seniors I look to,” Lower Ian Lanning said. “I admire how he has pushed through many failures but always bounces back with a good attitude.” He highlights Shah’s role as a mentor, saying, “he inspires me with his confidence and his leadership in the dorm.”

    His friends have also recognized his resilience and motivation. “Whenever he has a project or a goal in mind, he stops at nothing to accomplish it,” Bhaghayath said. “[For example, for] his F1 competition from last year, he worked with his team and put countless hours into working around the school’s restrictions and to get the design ready for competition.”

    Shah has left memorable first impressions to many. “In the first week of school, I was sitting in EPAC,” Chang recalled. “Yash, a complete stranger at the time, walked up to me and compared heights with me. He cheered loudly when he saw that someone at Exeter was shorter than him. His excitement was short lived as I grew three inches in a year and surpassed him in height. But he still cracks jokes about my height once in a while.”

    “He’s a pretty big goofball, but he’s also really caring—he cares a lot about his friends and the people here in the dorm,” said Morrill. “He brings an enthusiasm that’s really hard to match, and it’s infectious. He is someone who, when he gets excited about something, shares that excitement with other people.”

    Shah is extremely passionate about robotics. He pursues this on campus as a part of APEX and MUREX robotics teams. Yash is the Chief Product Officer of MUREX and helped lead the team to success at the MATE Underwater Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) competition. “I formally met Yash when I joined MUREX robotics in the winter,” Chang noted.  “He was my mentor and guided me and taught me many different tips about mechanical work.”

    His peers recognize his growth, in academics, extracurriculars, athletics, and as a person.

    “I think he has become much more mature,” Lanning said. “Last year, he used to get really mad after losing squash matches, which is natural. But recently he’s been more of a calm person after he lost and dealing with the loss in a more constructive way.”

    Bhaghayath, as his teammate on Vertex, saw his growth as an engineer. “Yash has definitely become not only more technically advanced, but has started to think bigger. He started to dream of even more ambitious projects, and he even created a custom go-kart.”

    Shah’s legacy is one of Chipotle, scooters, and jokes—but also his support, intelligence, and care for others.

    “I feel like to know Yash is to know his intense love for Chipotle,” Morrill joked.

    But this love is just a small sign of something greater: “Yash leaves a legacy of being passionate about what he loves. He leaves a legacy of caring about others in big ways and small. And he leaves a legacy of just bringing levity and silliness to any situation, which is really nice to have someone who can bring a smile to your face. And I think people will remember that about him.”