"To Do Some Good in the World"

Shelby Davis Reflects on the Davis UWC Scholars' "Ticket to Life"

Mike Schoenfeld: The Davis UWC Scholarship program is now entering its seventh year, with 201 graduates and 1,100 current Davis UWC Scholars at 76 schools. What are your thoughts about the program today?

Shelby Davis: I’ve had the same enjoyment of seeing the scholarship program grow as I did building our company — but what has really excited me is that the students have made me look good. So, when they thank me, I turn it around and say, “I have to thank you because you are proving every day the worth of my investment.”

Has the program met your expectations?
It has more than met my expectations. I get rave reviews about the program, and now enough data is in to show that these students carry their weight academically and then some. They also more than carry their weight, by mixing in and helping the American students on their campuses learn more about the world.

What has surprised you along the way?
The surprise has been the growth of the program. With 300 or 400 students entering the program each year, it’s going to probably grow to 1,500 students or so in college at any one time. I imagine that will be the peak, and it will hopefully stay at that level. The numbers ultimately will depend on the quality of the students that are being recruited by the schools, and how much they want to come to America to get the education that’s provided in this country.

What do you think has been the program’s single biggest impact?
Well, there are a lot of programs that try to educate bright people from all walks of life or all countries — but what we’re trying to do, by building clusters of students in places like Middlebury and other campuses, is encourage Americans to learn about the world from these international students. If you get enough UWC students on a campus, they become an important part of the fabric of the community. I get letters from the students saying that they have made great American friends and they learn so much about America, while the Americans have learned so much about the world from them. I think that’s important.

What are your hopes for the students as they graduate and go out into the world?
So many of them want to go to graduate school. It can be a struggle for them to get funding for that, so a good number end up going right to work in this country for a year to further develop their skills. I think 70-80 percent of them will end up in their own countries eventually. Most of them want to go back to their countries with the tools to become leaders — and that, I think, will make a difference.

You have often been quoted as saying that you are investing in leaders.
That’s why I’ve focused on these students, because I feel their influence will be much greater than their numbers in the times ahead. Once in a while I think back to my days at college. The people we studied were the leaders of their times — the political, economic, social, cultural, and religious leaders who made a difference. I guess I am focused on working with today’s talent pool and hoping it will grow and influence a lot of other people.

What is the future of the Davis UWC Scholarship Program over the next ten years?
The United World Colleges are the feeders to this program, and if new UWC campuses keep getting built, maybe the program can keep growing. There are certainly a lot more bright students in the world than we’re finding right now. I just know that if I do this for the rest of my life, I will have probably helped to educate 40,000 or 50,000 students and spent over a billion dollars doing it. It’s staggering to imagine, and yet in some ways, it’s a drop in the bucket in a world with six billion people. But you have to start somewhere.

Who is Shelby Davis?
[He laughs] I put my pants on like every other person. I am a very average individual. I was in the right place at the right time in my career, and I had the right upbringing to give me the discipline and drive to want to succeed. That’s partially why I like these kids. They may have come from Ghana, Albania, or any number of other countries, and yet they somehow rose through the ranks and found their way to a United World College and then to a fine college or university in the United States I don’t think you need superior intelligence, really; you just need drive, ambition, and desire to do some good in the world. That’s what I’ve tried to do.

As you look at the world, what issues concern you the most?
I like what my mother has been saying to me. She says, “Everybody is saying what a terrible world we’re turning over to our children and our grandchildren,” and she’s lived 100 years and seen a lot of terrible worlds — but in essence, she says you can wake up on the dark side everyday or the bright side. She’s an optimist at heart, and I think I am, too. The world is not perfect, and there will always be troubles. We just have to make the best of the times we’re in and try to do as much as we can.

What has this program meant to you personally, and how has it changed you?
We always talk to the students about spending one-third of their lives learning, one-third earning, and one-third returning. I’m now in the midst of the returning phase — giving back to the world and society. It has really given me a great energy level by investing in students who are this capable of making a difference on their campuses and the world. So the thanks I get from the students make the giving very personal. Really, it’s the pride I get from their achievements that gives me a lot of energy.

You and Gale have touched so many lives, and you have been quoted as saying that you feel like you have a very large family. Are there any students whose stories have particularly touched you?
Well, one student was graduating, possibly from Middlebury, and he said, “Mr. Davis, I am graduating Phi Beta Kappa, I’m president of my various activities on the campus, I’ve been active here and there and risen to the top inside and outside the classroom. As you can see, I haven’t wasted a minute, Mr. Davis. What you have done for me is given me a ticket to life.” I like that. It has stuck with me. I think a lot of these students feel this way. They come to a place like Middlebury and they’re overwhelmed with the opportunities for learning and taking part in activities. The time flies by for them — they can’t do enough things. I think it’s good for the campus. It’s got to be.

If people are inspired by what you have done, what would you have them do?
Getting involved with talented young people is the key. There are plenty of ways that people can help these students, or students like them — by helping them pay for graduate school, or by providing internships and things like that. If the student is capable enough to get into a place like Middlebury and they need additional funding from what I’m offering, I have no objection to a student having several “parents,” if you will, as helpers in their education.

How do you want to be remembered?
Look, there are a lot of people who do lots of great things in the sciences, in the arts, in politics. There are so many ways you can touch the lives of others that I don’t feel I deserve any particular special recognition. It’s what you feel inside that matters. What I feel is a personal satisfaction that comes from the pride I have in the students I have helped. I feel they have the work ethic to help make this world a better place. If I can keep helping students like this to get on the road to success, that will be my legacy.