David Shoup - Distinguished Alumni, Student Mentor, and Children's Author

Graduating from Central Washington University in 1996 with a degree in theatre arts, David Shoup has always enjoyed being creative.

Whether it was his first play at CWU The Merchant of Venice or his final show The Tortoise & the Hare, his time on stage with his classmates was always very special to him.

“One my fondest memories was heading to Frazzini’s Pizza after a rehearsal or show and hanging out with my fellow cast and crew members,” recalls Shoup.

After graduating he found other creative outlets to fill his time, including giving back to his alma mater by mentoring students, something he began doing in 2018.

“There is something very gratifying about working with someone who is eager to grow personally and professionally,” said Shoup. “I feel like my time is always well spent when in service to someone and helping them to expand their belief of what is possible in their life. Mentoring means sharing your knowledge with those that ask, passing on your wisdom to those who seek it, and caring. Working with my mentee has been a great lesson in resilience and the hard work and dedication that he’s displayed and the challenges he has overcome to get to this transition point in his life will serve him well.”

Shoup has also returned to campus to speak to students in the theatre arts department as well as given student workshops on developing public presentation skills to students in the communication department.

“Central was a catalyst and launching off point for the success I am experiencing in my career,” said Shoup. “I owe much of my success to the skills, attributes picked up during my formidable years in class and in my interactions on the CWU campus.”

Among his accomplishments are receiving the CWU College of Arts and Humanities Distinguished Alumni Award, the CWU Theatre Arts Thespian of the Year, and most recently publishing a children’s book called The Adventures of Wembley the Pug: Wembley’s First Day of School which is available on Amazon(link is external).

In the back of the book in his author bio, Shoup gives a shoutout to CWU and states that during his college journey he sold educational books door-to-door during each summer to pay for tuition. It was there that he learned the power that books have on families, but little did he know he would be able to sell his own book one day.

“As an actor in the theatre arts program, essentially every job I have been blessed to have can be tied in small part to my experience at Central Washington University,” said Shoup. “My ability to deliver a compelling message as a professional speaker teaching personal development concepts and skills, create a dynamic performance as an actor and stand-up comedian in New York, and write a successful children's book can be traced back to my roots at Central.”

Shoup current day job is with Gong as a senior GTM enablement manager where his days are spent facilitating and hosting the new hire onboarding for all company new hires, including training employees on what they need to learn to successfully begin their time at the company. Additionally, he coaches and provides presentation support for many of Gong’s events.

He has no problem staying busy, but we appreciate the time he continually makes for CWU and giving back to students.

Story by Robin Burck

February 2023