Transcript: Cris Shemo on Leadership, Vulnerability, Brotherhood, and Building a Lasting Legacy

Good morning and welcome back to the show. We are here with senior football captain and just last week's Thanksgiving speaker, Chris Shimo. How are you, Chris? Pretty good.

Pretty good. Happy to be here. Thanks for being on. Well, it's great having you on here.

You're a really interesting kid. We're going to get through a lot of the impressive things that you've done during high school. But what has your journey been like to U.S. and to this point? I would say, you know, I've been at U.S. since I was a sixth grade, transferring from like a different background and like a completely different school area.

I would say it was hard at first, you know, just making friends and trying to find a new identity for myself because it was very different. You know, I had to adjust to some of the new things, you know, that the school had to offer. And it took a lot of time. And, you know, I just had to be patient.

My mom always told me just be patient with it and, you know, everything will fall into place. And, you know, I would say like starting my high school career, you know, I started making more friends and getting my name out there. But, you know, I was still I still had this little kid mindset to where, you know, I was still, you know, kind of joke around and just like not take school as seriously, you know, as I was supposed to. So coming to, you know, into senior year, I really wanted to find a new identity for myself.

And, you know, I was putting myself more out there and just trying to spark change in the school and, you know, for myself. So, you know, being able to speak. Thanksgiving, you know, gave a good, pretty, pretty solid senior speech about, you know, men's mental health and becoming a football captain, just leading a young team, you know, just, you know, really all help towards that goal of shaping a new identity for myself. So, yeah.

And which school did you come from before U.S.? I went to Citizens Academy. Yeah. So you don't have the stereotypical story that most people might think of when they think of U.S., right?

Yeah. Have you felt like you've been able to find your place at U.S.? I think I've definitely found my place at U.S. I would say it's always hard or it's still hard to really, you know, fit in because, you know, I am different than, you know, a lot of other kids here.

So I kind of always got to, you know, remember that, you know, when I'm going about my day at U.S. But just on like an overall aspect, I've definitely fit in because U.S. definitely offers places and, you know, spaces for everyone to fit in. You just got to find that. So, you know, 50-50.

Yeah. You know, let's go to the beginning of the year, right? I really kind of started to know you. You had your senior speech.

Yeah. Which, by the way, was great. Thank you. But I remember that speech so well because it really highlighted the maturing process and your journey that you've been going on since your childhood.

For the listeners who weren't there to listen to it, could you tell us what the goal of that speech really was about and how do you think that's really applied to your life? Yeah. So my sophomore year, I got diagnosed with depression and anxiety. So that kind of shifted like everything for me, you know, just.

I was raised in a pretty feminine, you know, household, but I really lacked that masculine stereotype that, you know, a lot of kids or a lot of male kids should have or quote unquote should have. So being diagnosed with that and just like this idea of just, you know, I'm, you know, I'm going to be sad some days for no reason. And I'm going to, you know, handle things a lot differently to other people. Just having that in the back of my head just always, it always felt weird.

And I had to like, you know, grow. And so like my senior speech these last few years has been me just getting used to, you know, having that and that's part of my identity now. So I just wanted to embark change and, you know, really speak to the student body as a whole, just to, you know, let the male population of our school know that, you know, it's okay to be vulnerable and, you know, speak about mental health because we are affected. You know, we're still affected just because we're men doesn't mean we're not affected any different.

Like, you know, it, you know. We still hurt. We still can get emotional. We should be able to, you know, express that.

So that's just what I wanted to highlight in that speech overall and just tell my story as well. Just, you know, give a huge example of being vulnerable, but also show that it's okay. And that's what I wanted to do. There is a certain ideology of like men shouldn't show emotion.

Right. And you're a big advocate for breaking down that barrier. What have you found? Like, is it freeing for you to share your emotions?

Is it like, what is the importance of young men showing their emotions? Yeah, I think, um, like it. It's obviously like, you know, very important, like you said, um, we, as men, you know, we go through a lot and we should be able to express how we feel no matter what. And in order to do that, we all got to be on one accord.

You know, we can't have, you know, some men in certain areas feeling like, you know, you know, or spreading information saying, like, we should be this, we should be that. Because social media is a huge part of this whole thing. Like, I grew up watching, you know, like bodybuilders and stuff like that. And it was always like, you know, like, you know, push to failure, you know.

I do this, do this, you know, no one's going to do it for you. And there's no other men who, you know, deal with, you know, mental health issues who are like, you know, like you guys can cry. You can, you know, talk to someone like you can do this. And both, you know, both men can be successful.

But I feel like if, you know, men just start breaking down that barrier of, you know, thinking we all have to be masculine and, you know, change will really be brought into this world. And, you know, obviously, like, you know, suicide rates for men's mental health is like really high, you know, compared to women. And, you know, we just, you know, we got to change that somehow. So this idea of just, you know, just speak in your mind, you know, we should be able to do that and be free to do that.

So, yeah. Can men be tough and be vulnerable at the same time? Oh, yeah, no doubt about it. I'm still, I'm going to use me as an example.

I'm still tough when I want to be, you know, like when I'm in the weight room lifting, like, you know, I'm tough. You know, I would say that on a football field, I'm pretty tough. But, you know, when we lose football games, I cry. You know, if I fail a PR, I get mad.

Like, it's, you know, like there's a balance. You got to find a balance. And there's like a line. You can't just, you know, like shield all your emotions and just like keep it inside because that's when it gets bad.

So you got to be able to show it. I'd say deadlifting 525 is pretty tough. Yeah. You know, another thing we kind of want to talk about was your time playing football.

And that's kind of where I really got to know you. A great example of that maturity that you brought was that you did not start the season as a football captain. But you were able to gain that title by the end of the season. What has it been like playing U.S.?

And what was it? Like getting that like captain title? Yeah, I think, you know, it was all a part of this, you know, identity I wanted to uphold. And, you know, start for myself, I guess.

My junior year is when I got like a decent amount of playing time. But then I stopped playing, you know, going on varsity second half of the season. And, you know, it was my senior year. You know, like time just went by so fast.

And I was like, you know, like, dang, like, you know, I got to it's my last ride. You know, I got to go. So I spent the whole offseason just trying to, one, inspire myself to stay more committed. Because that's always what my coach told me.

Like, you can do this well, you can do this well. But you just got to be, you know, 100 percent committed. And that was just my goal, you know, just be committed to the program, also to myself. Because being, you know, whether I'm a captain or not, being one of the leaders on the team is, you know, you're a senior.

You're a leader regardless. And the underclassmen are going to look up to you, you know, and look at you. So, you know, that was just my goal. And then once I got that captain role.

It just, you know, everything that I thought about myself just came true. Like, I felt like I was a captain. And, you know, obviously the coaches saw that. I just had one more step I had to take.

And, you know, I'm sure a little bit. And, you know, I got named captain. And I feel like it was very good, you know, on my part. And that the coaches were able to recognize that, you know, I've shown, you know, some leadership, you know, attributes and everything.

So, yeah. Have there been any mentors that have showed you how to lead younger kids? I mean, I've had a lot. I've had a lot.

I would say my real inspiration, I would say, is Fanon Miller. He graduated last year. He took me under his wing my sophomore year when I started throwing for a track. He just, you know, taught me the way.

And, you know, we had our ups and downs because, you know, throwing is, you know, pretty hard. And he was really good at it. So, just, you know, I always looked up to him and looked for his advice and see how he did everything. And it was just like one, you know, one big example.

He took me under his wing. He taught me how to do this and how to be like this. And I just used that after he graduated. I just continued to use that.

And I just wanted to be like him. So, I would say he's like my big mentor in that case, yeah. Are there some teachers or maybe some, like, even classes that you went through that, like, really taught you something or, like, showed you kind of the way that you talk about that Fanon kind of gave you? Yeah, I would say Mr.

O'Brien's class. I had him freshman year and last year. I mean, he's seen the best and the worst of me. So, you know, he can really.

You know, talk about this. But his whole idea was just, you know, you know, do the work and, like, you'll see results. That was, like, the overall thing I got from his class a lot. On top of, you know, talking about mental health and everything.

Like, his class was not just English. Like, it was, you know, in a way, a life class. You know, he always taught lessons every day about just life, not just English. So, I would say Mr.

O'Brien's definitely been a huge mentor, especially with me trying to be more vulnerable and getting, you know, spreading awareness to men's mental health. He's been. You know, a big advocate for that as well. So, yeah.

You were able to teach us another life lesson in your Thanksgiving speech. And I know that stuck with a lot of us. So, how and when did you find out you were going to give that speech? I was talking to some of the prefects because I kind of wanted to speak at graduation, too.

It was between Thanksgiving and graduation. And Jackson Penny actually came up to me and he was like, you know, would you like to talk for Thanksgiving? And I was like. Yeah, I'll do it.

You know, like, I don't mind. And then, like, about like a week later, Mrs. Coy, like, pulled me aside, you know, in her office. I thought I was in trouble.

And I was a little scared. But then she was like, yeah, like, you know, like, you're giving a Thanksgiving speech. Like, would you like to do it? And I was like, yeah, like, absolutely.

And, you know, it was a big surprise. I was also happy because I already had an idea in my mind of what I wanted to talk about. And I wanted to have, like, this creative aspect of, you know, having thankful as an acronym and, you know, everything, you know, fell into place. So, yeah.

You know, why did you really choose that, like, thankful acronym? Honestly, it didn't really even hit me until you started going through it at the end. I realized, wow, like, you kind of built the whole thing into the acronym. Where did you get that idea?

Honestly, it just, I don't even know. It just hit me. Because I was really thinking about my graduation speech. If I was to give one and I wanted to talk about legacy and I was going to have that as an acronym.

But then, you know, I feel like Thanksgiving is really huge. This idea of, like, gratitude. And. We had a focus meeting, I think, earlier the week before talking about gratitude as well.

And I was like, I think it was, like, the perfect opportunity to really highlight everything, like, that we talked about in the focus meeting about, you know, being grateful for the little things as well as the big things, the good and the bad. So, I wanted to, you know, think, like, what are some words that could highlight good and bad with being thankful. And acronyms put it all together. And, you know, I guess it worked out.

What did you want to talk about at graduation about legacy? Legacy. The idea of that, you know, we everyone has their own legacy and we can always break the shadows or, you know, like some, you know, some of our mentors cast a pretty big shadow on us and we can always break that and leave our own legacy. So, my whole idea, you know, if I was to speak at graduation is to talk about how we can leave a lasting impact on the school.

But, you know, someone's life in general, you know, not just yourself. So, yeah. You know, another thing I kind of want to talk about and you brought it up with your. When you were thinking of making this speech, but, like, your involvement with Focus, right?

And for our listeners who don't know, that's the Fellowship of Christians at University School. But pretty much, I think what I wanted to talk to you about is your faith and kind of like how it's been important to you because obviously all three of us have gone to Focus. But, like, how has that really guided you and your path? Yeah, I've been, in a way, I grew up in church.

My grandmother on my dad's side, she's very religious. So, whenever I went to go see her, always went to church. And I grew up in church. My mom used to take me to church when I was younger with some of our, like, my godparents and everything.

But I didn't really understand it. You know, in a way, I didn't really understand, you know, how it all worked. I just knew, you know, like, you know, you die, you go to heaven. That's what every little kid thinks about.

But there's, like, a lot of, like, other factors, you know, into that. And as I got older, I really realized how life hits, you know, someone. And, you know, like, what we do to, you know. Kind of combat that.

But also, you know, like, just, you know, play with it a little bit. And I would say, like, these last, like, two years, I've gotten really, really, really, you know, deep in my faith. Because, like, I feel like, and I've talked about this at Focus. Like, I have, like, I feel like I have, like, a really strong connection with God.

But it's, like, different than everyone else. It's, like, me talking, you know, out loud in my room. Like, I feel like I'm talking to him. And whatever I talk about, like, it, you know, like, it happens.

And I'm, like, you know, that's not luck. That's not chance. Like, I know who that is. Like, it's the man above.

So, you know, after, like, I started seeing those signs, I was, like, yeah. Like, he's listening to everything. And, you know, he's always going to make a way. So, after that, I was, like, I got to give my all to, you know, the man above.

I got to give my all in. Because, you know, he would do the same thing for me. And he already did. So, really, I've just been, you know, just really, really deep in my faith.

And just trying to spread that as well. Spread that as well, yeah. There's a lot of those groups here at U.S. Which I think is one of the specialties.

One of the special parts of it is those groups where maybe it's something that might be uncomfortable to talk about. It is religion or, you know, certain race affinity groups. What are you involved in here? And how has that kind of helped shape you?

Yeah, I'm in, so, Pembroke. It's an African-American, you know, society for the boys here. And, like, I've been in that since middle school. And I think that was, like, my first so-called, you know, safe space for me.

Because, you know, I felt like my first couple days of school. Here in the 6th grade. I felt alone. And I just felt, like, targeted in a way.

And I didn't really like that. And then after I joined, you know, a Pembroke and everything. And then Mr. Lifford and Mr.

Hutch, like, you know, they always talked to me. After that, I was just like, like, I have a safe space. Like, no matter what, no matter what happens, I have a group to go to. And obviously in high school, like, high school, there's way more freedom.

And there's way more opportunities to, you know, go and put yourself out there. So, I wanted to join more groups. I've also been in, I'm in MASH Union, the mental health one. Which, obviously, like, you know, I'm a very strong advocate for that.

So, I'm glad they have that in, you know, a male-dominated, you know, school. I'm the co-head of Knitting Club, which is something very new for me. But, you know, Mrs. Ullery, she's, like, my favorite teacher here.

So, she wanted me, Eric Monterey, and Alex Warren to be the co-heads of that. And we had one meeting. It was pretty nice, pretty calm. So.

It was great to do something new. So. Yeah. Those are, I would say, those are, like, my, you know, four are mental health.

Pembroke, co-head of Knitting Club, and then I'll focus. Those are, like, my top four. And I'm in a couple others. But I think just the idea of being able to join other groups and really learn about more than just one thing.

Like, more than just something that's, you know, relative to you. Learning about everything is very important here. And the fact that the school has that is just amazing. So, yeah.

You know, one of the things else. So, kind of going with the club idea is sports, right? Sports is a big part. We're required to play a sport.

So, it's a big part of, like, everything we do. I know we talked about football. And you kind of talked a little bit about throwing with track and field. Yeah.

What are some of the sports that you've done while at U.S.? And what have they taught you? So, in middle school, I did swimming for a period of time. I wanted to lose weight.

And I knew I used to swim. I think when I turned four, I started swimming. And I quit when I was, like, 12. So, I swam for, like, a pretty long time.

And I kind of wanted to do it again in middle school. And swimming is a very hard sport. It's a lot of conditioning. It's a full-body workout.

And that just taught me to push through everything. You know, just never stop churning. And obviously, I've been in football since the fifth and sixth grade tackling program with Coach Mabasa. And football, I would say that's really the sport that, in a way, kind of, like, toughened me up and really helped me, you know, find myself and, like, find a way to channel, like, all the emotions.

All the emotions I have, you know. And then track. I've been kind of in and out of track. I don't really count that as a sport.

But I did do it for, like, two years. Just the environment that track brings is really, like, it's one of a kind. Like, you know, football is obviously, like, a great sport. But track, just the group of guys that are always there every year, it's just, it's always a fun experience.

No matter how hard the workouts are, they're going through it with you. And, you know, we love to have that here. So, yeah. That brotherhood that you talk about in some of those sports.

Yeah. Have you felt like that's different than other places you've been around? Oh, I would say, yeah, definitely. I think this school, this whole school is a brotherhood.

And I think my sophomore year is kind of, like, when we really started talking about brotherhood more. Because our sophomore year, like, our sports were very, very nice our sophomore year. My sophomore year. And, you know, it carried on to now.

And I know our senior class as a whole, we really wanted to spark that brotherhood. Like, again, you know, really get that. And moving and going around the school. And so far it's been a little, you know, iffy.

But I know, you know, our senior class and, you know, the underclass will pull it through. And really, you know, finish, you know, finish this year strong. And really feel like brothers. You know, I just wanted to go out with a bang my senior year.

And I want, you know, to be able to call everyone in the school my brothers. And we're pretty close to that. So, yeah. Do you think you've had, like, a lot of legacy building moments throughout high school?

And do you think you've built a legacy where years down someone's going to say, yeah, I remember Chris. Like, because this. And this. And, yeah, he did something.

Oh, yeah. For sure. No doubt about it. I know this year is definitely my strongest year for that.

Yeah. I have, like, teachers. Teachers that I didn't even know knew me. And I barely knew.

They come up to me, send me emails, you know, telling me great speech, great this. And, like, it really means a lot. Because I, you know, in the middle school I felt that, you know, I was in a way, like, undervalued. But also, like, I wasn't really seen.

So, to be seen now, you know, like, my final year here. Just to be seen by everyone that I wanted, you know. That I wanted, you know, to be seen by. It's just really great.

And I think my legacy here is definitely, you know, been one of a kind. And I hope to, you know, continue it. You know, we're just starting. I hope to continue it.

And, yeah, I kind of learned that. I'm not going to say his name. But a kid on the football team, his mom was talking to my mom one day at this dinner we were having. And she was like, oh, like, you're Chris Shimo's mom?

And my mom was like, yeah. And she was like, yeah, like, our son. Yeah. And my mom talks about, you know, Chris at their dinner table all the time.

And I was like, my mom told me that. And I was just like, wow. Like, I think what I did is I shouted the kid out at practice because he had really good practice. And, you know, he went and told his parents about that at the dinner table.

Like, that just, you know, that meant a lot to me. Just, like, one simple act like that, I just, you know, he had a good practice. And, you know, it really meant a lot to him. So, I just hope I can do that for everyone here.

I hope everyone can think of Chris Shimo and go, yeah, that's a kid I love. You know, I loved him. Pretty, pretty, pretty. So far, he's been pretty good.

So far, he's been pretty good. What do you think, I know this is kind of off topic of that legacy, but have you kind of liked that house system? I mean, obviously, you've been around it since middle school. Do you have any, like, changes or something as a school maybe in general or just changes in the house system?

Like, what do you think the school needs to improve? I think the house systems, I would say it was very popular in middle school. Middle school. I think we, like, you know, our house lunches every Friday.

I feel like we had more house activities. Like, in middle school, it was very, like, a big part of our school. But then the high school is kind of, you know, we just had Founder's Day and, you know, some community services for our houses. But I feel like we need to, like, really bring that back.

Because I feel like high school is where, like, we really make memories with our friends. And, like, we really find out who we want to carry in the future with us. And now our system is, like, the perfect time to do that, you know, because we have, you know, kids, a lot of kids in one scene. Like, you know, we have two kids.

We have 10 houses. We have a lot of kids in one house. And that's just an opportunity to meet younger kids and kids, you know, in your grade. And I feel like we should just really emphasize more on the house system.

You know, it's, like, more activities, you know, maybe house lunches, you know, every Friday like we did in middle school. Like, just things like that really meant a lot to me in middle school. And I feel like it will mean a lot to, you know, the upper school this year. Yeah.

Your journey has definitely, you talk about it as one that's strengthened you to this point. But if you could go back and tell your story. Your younger self, one thing, what would it be? Stop procrastinating.

I think that was my downfall a little bit, like, my sophomore year. I just, I kind of got a little behind at school. But, like, me procrastinating was, like, the biggest thing. I would just go home and go on my phone.

And next thing you know, it's 8 o'clock. And I'm like, all right, I'll do this at 11. And I'm asleep. Like, it's just procrastination is definitely, like, the biggest thing.

So I would just tell myself to really just, you know, go home. Put my phone in the drawer and do your work. And then have fun after. Like, that, I would say that's, like, my biggest, you know, what if moment right there.

What if I just put my phone in the drawer? Well, to wrap up, one of the things that I think is really interesting is just that growth that Jack was talking about. What would you say really pushes you and makes you get out of bed in the morning and just pushes you through the hard times and makes you go one step further? I think the question that we always talk about is, what is your why?

My why? My why is definitely my mother. I was raised by a single mother, and my father was very absent in my life. And really, all I had was her and my grandmother, but I'm just talking about my mom for now.

Everything she did, all the sacrifices she made, you know, for me to be here and to be in this position, like, it's, you know, all credit to her and the man above. So my why is really just to make her life easier. Everything she did for me, like, she, you know, went through hell and back. So I want to make sure, you know, when I make it, that her life is as easy as, you know, mine was, in a way, you know.

So that's, she's my why. No matter what, she's my why. Yeah. That's amazing.

Yeah, that's really cool. Thank you so much, Chris. Of course. For such a great interview and so many, like, great stories and insights.

And thank you so much for tuning in. And we hope you'll join us next Wednesday for another episode of The Late Start Show. Thanks, Chris. Of course.