{"id":71,"date":"2022-08-19T18:39:58","date_gmt":"2022-08-19T18:39:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/?p=71"},"modified":"2024-03-05T15:49:01","modified_gmt":"2024-03-05T15:49:01","slug":"wcsu-alumnus-shelby-davis-named-to-prestigious-40-under-40-list","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/2022\/08\/19\/wcsu-alumnus-shelby-davis-named-to-prestigious-40-under-40-list\/","title":{"rendered":"WCSU alumnus Shelby Davis named to prestigious \u201840 under 40\u2019 list"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Shelby

Shelby Davis<\/p><\/div>\n

Since 1903,\u00a0Western Connecticut State University<\/a>\u00a0has provided an exemplary education and dream-building support that have given rise to many accomplished alumni. One such alumnus is Shelby C. Davis of Waterbury, who continues his successful journey and was named one of the 40 Under 40: The Class of 2022 by Connecticut Magazine. The list profiles 40 people who are considered \u201cshooting stars\u201d and the most influential, innovative and creative residents under age 40.<\/p>\n

Since graduating from WCSU in 2008 with a Bachelor of Arts in\u00a0Social Work<\/a>, Davis has authored two books, provided motivational and diversity training services and programs, earned his master\u2019s degree in Community Counseling from the University of Bridgeport, served as a mental health counselor and social worker, and become a driving force of local youth theater.<\/p>\n

Davis\u2019 career is split into two main devotions: he is both executive director for\u00a0City Youth Theater<\/a>\u00a0in Waterbury and a counselor for Waterbury public schools. A Waterbury native, Davis counsels at-risk students in the school system and mentors young thespians at City Youth Theater, a nonprofit for kids in grades 4-12 that \u201cemphasizes the process of artistic collaboration and instills a focused work ethic.\u201d An actor himself, Davis has performed in hundreds of musicals and plays, but what he finds the most rewarding experience of his theater life is working with youth. In January he announced a collaboration with Shakesperience Productions to stage his new play, \u201cInspired: The Tale of Christoff.\u201d<\/p>\n

Davis hopes to galvanize and motivate youth with this new story that reveals how a boy learns to befriend and instill values in bullies. \u201cI wanted to create and tell a magical story that young kids can connect to and learn important values from,\u201d said Davis. This play is his third written effort to support and motivate children and young adults through the arts, as he has written the books\u00a0\u201cMeet Wyatt Brown\u201d<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0\u201cEverything My Parents Taught Me in 6 Steps.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI always had a passion to help others and wanted to share it in a text, so individuals\u00a0can carry it around with them,\u201d Davis said about his reasons for writing his books.<\/p>\n

Davis began his path to supporting others while attending Western Connecticut State University. \u201cI was very involved\u00a0on campus; I enjoyed helping other students and being involved in programming,\u201d he said. While a student at the university, Davis was president of the Black Student Alliance and helped host WCSU\u2019s first Diversity Conference.<\/p>\n

\u201cWestern Connecticut State University built a foundation for my leadership,\u201d Davis noted, and his advice for students hoping to attend the university is to \u201c keep going \u2014 stick to your dreams, your goals, your vision. The road\u00a0may be long, but you will get there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Finding a way to combine his love for theater and appreciation of education, Davis founded the Shelby Davis Arts Scholarship, which in 2022 will award one scholarship to a graduating Waterbury High School senior with a history of participating in arts programs in high school and who plans to attend a two- or four-year university with a major in an arts-related field.<\/p>\n

As for being named to the 40 Under 40 list in Connecticut Magazine, Davis said: \u201cI am beyond grateful, surprised and motivated\u00a0to continue to do the work I do every day; this award has fueled me to keep going to provide theater programming\u00a0in my community,\u00a0and empower and motivate each person I encounter each day.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more information about Davis\u2019 books, programs and more, go to\u00a0www.shelbycdavis.com<\/a>\u00a0or contact the Office of Public Relations at\u00a0pr@wcsu.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>Western Connecticut State University changes lives by providing all students with a high-quality \u00a0education that fosters their growth as individuals, scholars, professionals and leaders\u00a0<\/em>in a global society. Our vision: To be widely recognized as a premier public university with outstanding teachers and scholars who prepare students to contribute to the world in a meaningful way.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Since 1903,\u00a0Western Connecticut State University\u00a0has provided an exemplary education and dream-building support that have given rise to many accomplished alumni. One such alumnus is Shelby C. Davis of Waterbury, who continues his successful journey and was named one of the …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-71","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-success-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/41"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}