George Shagley ’26 seeks out discomfort.
“At Wabash, my goal has been to do something radically different every semester,” he says.
The Latin and philosophy double major has lived up to that goal.
“George has truly embraced the whole Wabash experience—a Renaissance man,” says Assistant Professor of Classics Matthew Gorey. “Instead of coasting and choosing things that were easy, he has really opted in and challenged himself.”
Shagley studied Latin in high school in Terre Haute, Indiana, and has continued to study it at Wabash—but he has also added Greek and, in his final semester, French.
“Latin and Greek classes are different even from other foreign language classes,” Shagley explains, “because you’re interpreting and analyzing something. You have to put yourself in the shoes of the Roman or Greek who wrote it. It’s a lot of fun.”
When offered the option of two different writing assignments in Gorey’s class, he opted for the harder—a metrically and linguistically correct Greek epigraph. The subject matter of this classical piece was a 19th-century philosopher Shagley admires.
Shagley has pursued challenges outside of classes as well. He learned how to play the piano, despite never having had lessons before coming to Wabash. He has done yoga, has taken salsa dance lessons, has learned photography while working in the communications and marketing department, and followed club rugby as a team photographer. Last fall, despite having never acted before, he auditioned for George Orwell’s “1984,” landing a role as the servant, Martin. Despite concerns about managing the rehearsal schedule while taking five classes and studying for the LSAT, he rose to the challenge.
“In theater you get to be whatever you want, dress up in fun costumes, and put yourself in another world and other characters’ shoes,” he says. “But it’s important, too. Theater has been a thing for millennia. You’re engaging in this human tradition.”
Still, putting himself out there has been a continual challenge. Shagley considers himself a shy, reserved person.
“When I moved into the Sigma Chi house, there were 70 new people that I had to be friends with right off the bat,” he says. “I was so nervous. I was kind of aloof, quiet.
“That’s an aspect of myself I’ve had to face,” he says. “Sometimes I have to be uncomfortable, put myself in other people’s shoes, and understand that what I think is best may not be the best for others. Being at Wabash and having personal relationships has helped me realize that I’m just a person, and other people are, too. They see the world in a way that should be acknowledged and appreciated.”
One aspect of Shagley’s life has taken him off campus to St. Bernard Catholic Church. He has been a Tractarian—an intern of sorts—helping in Sunday school classes, attending events at the church, and serving at the Newman Center on the edge of campus.
The Newman Center, owned by the Diocese of Lafayette, is named after St. John Henry Newman, who started the 1830s Oxford Movement that eventually developed into Anglo-Catholicism. Wabash’s center is one of many across the nation that serves as a place on campus where people can have serious discussions about Catholicism and Christianity. The Newman Center also coordinates an on-campus mass each week.
“We have an alum from California, David Watkins ’64, who has been donating money for us to continue growing what we started,” explains Missionary Pastor Father Michael Bower. “It’s called the Tractarian program because the members of the Oxford Movement were called Tractarians.”
Bower and Director of Evangelization Annie Roach appreciate the dedication and try-anything spirit Shagley brings to everything he does.
“No matter what I ask of him, I’ve never gotten a no,” Roach says. “It is so rare to meet someone who is fearless like that. He doesn’t judge something or say no because it’s scary or he doesn’t know how to do it. He’ll always look at it and say, ‘Okay, I’ll try.’”
She adds that Shagley is always willing to lend a hand, whether it’s reading a Bible story to a Sunday school class or taking out the trash.
“I am so grateful I got the chance to see this side of George,” Roach says. “He becomes the fun in the room, and he pulls all the kids in with a wide-eyed ‘guess what’s coming next’ storytelling, even with the smallest little ones, holding their hands, helping them carry a plate, or serving for them.
“I’ve seen George grow so much,” she says. “He is a strong, determined person now who has taken on all kinds of opportunity, and he’s run with all of it.”
True to form, Shagley’s post-college plans are less than conventional.
“My cousin is in law school right now. My dad’s a lawyer. His dad is a lawyer. His great-aunt is a lawyer. My other grandfather is a lawyer, and his brother is a lawyer,” Shagley says with a laugh. “There’s a lot of lawyers.”
While being a lawyer seems like an obvious path and something he may pursue at some point, Shagley’s strongest desire in the near term is to travel and work in Europe.
“George takes the more interesting and difficult route based on what topics seem interesting,” Gorey says. “That’s very refreshing.”
