Linguistics, sports and years of schooling and preparation has prompted Washington native Gabriel Shepherd’s acceptance to the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Co.

According to Brett Shepherd, Gabriel’s father, Gabriel was intrigued by the Academy because he was interested in developing his leadership skills and applying his love of languages and interest in other cultures to service to his country.

Shepherd said his son has attended school since he was 18 months old, when he attended First United Methodist Church. Later, he went to the Montessori Preschool of Washington. Shepherd started elementary school at the Washington Montessori Public Charter School, which his mother, Stacey Gahagan, played an instrumental role in founding.

Shepherd then attended a Quaker school in Durham, the Carolina Friends School for eighth and ninth graders, and enjoyed taking classes in Spanish and Arabic.

“When Gabe was born, his mother, a North Carolina Teaching Fellow, was teaching Spanish at John Cotton Tayloe Elementary School,” Brett Shepherd said. “I was a nursing student at ECU. Gabe grew up on East Second Street and later in Washington Park. His education began with his Spanish-speaking babysitters Rosa, and later her sister Lupe. They, along with his mother, may have been influences for his love for languages.”

According to Shepherd, his son attended Washington High School and played football and swam for Coach Spencer Pake. During his sophomore year, Gabriel Shepherd was accepted to the North Carolina School for Science and Math, a public boarding school in Durham for 11^th and 12^th graders. While at NCSSM, he studied Chinese and taught himself French in preparation for a solo trip to France last summer.

“While in France, he (Gabriel) visited two exchange student friends from the summer before,” Shepherd said. “He came home after a month in France sounding like a Paris street kid.”

Shepherd’s Asian studies class at NCSSM spent three weeks in China this February, according to his father.

“At the age of 17, he has already traveled more than the average person does in a lifetime,” Shepherd said.

Shepherd’s senior year, he applied to several universities, including University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, N.C. State University, Davidson, George Washington University and both the Naval Academy and the Air Force Academy. Last summer, Shepherd was selected to attend a summer seminar at the United States Naval Academy, according to his father. He spent a week experiencing life as a cadet at a military academy and left confident that, if selected, he could thrive in such an environment.

Shepherd said that his son would like to become a fighter pilot or attend medical school, upon graduation. He also plans to continue his study of Chinese and Arabic and hopes the Air Force will provide him with additional opportunities to develop his language skills among native speakers.

Navy Corpsman David Cedergren, a family friend who served and died in Iraq, as well as his godfather, Navy Commander Tim Stacks, who currently serves as a nurse anesthetist in Naples, Italy, are two of Gabriel Shepherd’s most valued role models. Shepherd credits his experiences in swimming, his participation in various sports through the Washington Parks and Recreation Department and his attendance and leadership positions at the NCSSM with developing and strengthening his character to prepare him for this endeavor, according to his father.

“These experiences taught him time management, perseverance, patience and commitment,” Shepherd said. “His mother and I are extremely proud of him, and we are honored to be his parents. We are excited and humbled that he has been selected and given this opportunity to attend the United States Air Force Academy.”