Jack Davis and Jim Shropshire Jr

Language:

English .

Biographical / historical:

Born and raised in Radford Va, however Hampden-Sydney has always been a "home away from home." My father was an H-SC grad (1987), my uncle was an H-SC grad (1988). Both of them were brief members of the golf team and football team and were members of KA fraternity. My grandfather was an HSC man, who would've graduated here (1952) if not for being a pilot in the Vietnam war for two years and completing his undergrad after at Centre College (which I bet a Kentucky native like yourself is quite familiar with). My grandfather was a member of Sigma Chi (ΣΧ) at both of these schools. I also have several distant relatives who also attended this great brotherhood we have collectively joined. However, for all of these legacies towards this campus, I do not believe that it was the reason for my acceptance to the college in 2022. The campus was an atmosphere I truly loved— a small, tight nit community where studies were challenging, but helped me stay disciplined. I was also offered a spot on both the golf team and the soccer team here, however I chose golf as my sport to continue on campus (less running). I am a current English major, with a minor in both Rhetoric, aswell as law and public policy. Like my grandfather, I am also a brother of the ΣΧ fraternity… however I have plenty of friends in SAE and also received a bid there. It is unbelievable to me that this is my last semester, aswell as the 250th graduating class of H-SC! What a cool atmosphere it has been on campus, filled with celebrations and history all year round. I think this project you, myself, and my fellow peers with their assigned alumni, have quite a cool agenda ahead us. Looking forward to seeing you face to face, virtually that is.

I arrived at Hampden-Sydney from Lexington in the fall of 1971, having been on campus only once before briefly. I spent my first two years pretty much studying continuously; I didn't have high confidence in my ability to do the work so may have overcompensated. I spent so much time in the library that they offered me a job. Two good friends made during those initial years remain close contacts today. We should see more of one another than we do. I pledged a fraternity, SAE, and double majored in history and govt/foreign affairs. Dr David Holly was one of my foreign affairs professors and my advisor. All in all, I loved my four years at Hampden-Sydney. It was a good fit. Following graduation in 1975, I returned to Kentucky still not knowing what I wanted to do. I started working on the family farm and I'm still here, feeding cows. As a complement to the farming I've been involved in many community endeavors over the years, specifically planning and zoning issues that affect our rural lifestyle and landscape. I served a term as president of the Fayette County Farm Bureau, which provided a useful platform for pursuit of these priorities. I was on the founding board of the Fayette Alliance, an advocacy group for farming and rural land preservation efforts that simultaneously promotes smart growth for the urban core.

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