With boxes and bags weighing first-year students down, the streets of the University of Oregon, from Agate to Alder, were filled with teary-eyed mothers hugging their daughters and proud fathers patting their sons on the back Thursday. Among the commotion, Wesley Shelmire stood alone.
New to the UO, Shelmire hasn’t been to his hometown of Dallas, Texas, since the end of May. Now he’s embarking on the college experience on his own. In fact, Shelmire didn’t even attend his high school graduation before starting on his new life adventures.
Instead, he packed up his bags and moved to Idaho to follow his passion: white-water kayaking.
Participating in a summer camp for boys called Mondamin, he spent the summer kayaking risky terrains like the North Fork of the Payette River and pursuing his passion. He first started learning the way of the water at 10 years old. His father, Day Shelmire, remembers the story of his son’s first water experience. The two traveled into the forest in a canoe. Terrified of the adventure before him, Shelmire decided that he never wanted to get in a canoe again. His father looked at his son and told him, “The only way out of the wilderness is to ride the canoe out.”
Now, Shelmire spends his time careening off 60-foot waterfalls.
“He’s the ballsiest guy I know. If he sees something he wants to do he does whatever he can to go out and do it,” Crosby Crevelt, one of Shelmire’s closest friends and his roommate in Idaho, said. “What really sets him apart is he just doesn’t care what anyone else thinks.”
With summer coming to an end, Shelmire packed his bags and drove to Eugene to start another adventure. Despite being alone for so long, Shelmire embraced moving into his residence hall as another exciting adventure.
“Why would you want to stay in the same place all the time?” Shelmire said. “It just seems boring and it’s a lot more exciting when you are going to new places.”
Although he was away from his family all summer, Shelmire’s mother, Mary, still feels close to her son.
“As a parent, we are trying to make what he wants to do happen, but when he actually left, it became reality and it’s been really tough,” she said during a phone interview.
However, being away from Texas also has its advantages for Shelmire. He’ll have more opportunities to kayak in Eugene than he would in Dallas. He plans on getting involved in the UO’s Outdoor Program this term and kayaking as often as possible. Even Shelmire’s father agrees that Oregon may be a better fit for his son.
“There’s nothing in Texas for Wesley,” he said.