Student Spotlight: Lewis Shepherd

By Owen Somerville                                               

Lewis Shepherd is a senior at BGHS who is unique for his consistently serious nature, but he speaks out concerning things he is passionate about. He is an integral member of his community, playing percussion for both his church and the Bowling Green High School band program regularly. Lewis has been diagnosed with scoliosis and ADHD, but these barriers have not stopped him from leading an enjoyable and successful high school career. Lewis expresses himself through his social media platforms, resulting in his rising popularity among the student population, and ultimately his appearance on the 2024 Basketball Homecoming Court.

Lewis Shepherd has been musically inclined since he began participating in the band program at Bowling Green Junior High. He has continued to contribute to the band program even after the Covid lockdown, and is currently the principal percussionist in the high school band program. 

BGHS sophomore and band student, Alex Franklin, has high praise for Lewis’ engagement during class time. Alex compliments Lewis, noting his “hardworking attitude and dedication to the band program.”

Alex also describes Lewis as semi-vocal in band class, saying, “He likes voicing his opinions on whatever is happening, and when he isn’t speaking about something on topic, he’s usually silent… He has easily earned his role as principal percussionist.”

Lewis has even volunteered to serve at Grace and Peace Presbyterian Church as the church’s percussionist. He speaks highly of the worship leader at the church, Raleigh Keegan, a country music artist.

The percussion instrument family is his area of expertise, but he experiments with other instruments when he has the opportunity. Lewis has played instruments as common as the electric guitar, and instruments as rare as the flexatone, which is a handheld percussion instrument.

When asked how many instruments he plays, Lewis responded, “Too many to count.”

Lewis documents much of his life on YouTube. On both the “Team Lewis” (@teamlewismusic) channel and the “Lewis Shepherd” (@lewisshepherdmusic) channel, Lewis uploads a variety of content daily. Viewers of the channel can watch videos of original music, chess gameplay, and news pertaining to BGHS students can be found on his channels. The “Team Lewis” channel focuses on daily news-related content, and the “Lewis Shepherd” channel pertains to entertainment content, and is more personal.

Lewis has posted interesting news content on the “Lewis Shepherd” channel, such as Chess troller identified: Noah Calvert as well as I almost left my house yesterday… and here’s why I didn’t. 

The straightforward news videos alongside satirical opinion pieces such as Bowling Green High School: Fire Mr. Tucker, he is an authoritarian provide insight into Lewis’ opinions and general train of thought.

As the handles of the YouTube channels suggest, the main focus of Lewis’ online presence is to upload music-related content. Lewis has recorded original music by himself, playing various instruments at a time using loop software.

Lewis has uploaded original songs to his personal channel, such as Stupid Car and Naughty Robots. Alongside the recordings of his own music, he has also uploaded “Team Lewis” covers of songs by established artists, such as Raleigh Keegan and Bri Fletcher.

During 2020-2021, Lewis Shepherd hosted in-person concerts at his house, featuring him and his family playing instruments. These events were ticketed, and tickets were priced at $5 each. However, Lewis admits that “if someone semi-famous comes in, we charge more.”

The in-person concerts were put on hiatus when the Shepherd family moved houses, because there was not enough room to host an event. Since then, any in-person concerts have been moved to YouTube live streams.

The majority of videos that Lewis has uploaded recently have been chess-related content. Since chess.com skyrocketed in popularity during the Covid lockdown in 2020, Lewis has been increasingly involved in the chess community. 

Chess.com uses the Elo ranking system, where a win for one side results in an equivalent loss for the other side. Using this system, players can estimate their skill by comparing their “elo” to other players of varying ranking.

According to Lewis, he rose from 100 elo to 1600 elo in the “live chess” game mode in less than a year, and it took him six months to achieve 1300 elo. Lewis does admit that his “bullet chess” elo is lower than his live chess elo. However, despite his lower ranking, he claims that nobody in the school can beat him at it.

Lewis has slowly been gaining popularity through his consistent Instagram live streams in hopes of reaching out to a larger audience. He mainly streams chess gameplay, but has recently been hosting live streams to talk to his followers. Hosting daily “Lives” and inviting people to talk with him has kept viewers watching and motivated more to join.

Lewis Shepherd’s gradual rise in popularity culminated in his nomination for Homecoming Court. He led a social media campaign on YouTube and Instagram, asking for votes from his followers. Lewis noted that one of his biggest accomplishments was receiving 200 likes on one post, which was related to the upcoming Homecoming Court.

After the second round of voting concluded, Lewis Shepherd was confirmed to have won the spot on the court during the third period, and classes erupted in cheer for the “underdog” coming out on top. Support for Lewis came from a genuine place in people’s hearts, and Lewis was ecstatic knowing that he had finally secured a spot on the court.

On January 12, 2024, Lewis Shepherd took his spot on the Homecoming Court next to Lucy Lowe as the final group to walk on, and they waited for the Homecoming King to be announced.

Despite the loudest cheering for candidates having come from the band in support of Lewis, he was not announced as the Homecoming King. Lewis Shepherd took his place next to Emily Franklin as the final standing on the Homecoming Court, and the applause lasted for minutes before it died down.

As the end of the year creeps closer, seniors have to consider what they plan to do after they graduate high school. Some may go on to college to become teachers, work in IT, or enlist in the military. 

However, Lewis Shepherd plans to stay local, and support the youth in Bowling Green. He explained, “I plan on starting chess coaching in Bowling Green, and will also host chess summer camps, most likely in the Grace and Peace fellowship hall…I might also help with percussion at BGISD.”

As a final remark after the Homecoming Court, Lewis shared his gratitude to those around him. 

He announced, “I want to thank anyone who voted me in, my family, and my church; especially the musicians and pastor.”

Without the influence of those around him, Lewis Shepherd would not have become the man that Bowling Green High School knows him as today. Whether you voted for him or not for Homecoming Court, he’s still an essential member of the BGHS senior class, and somebody who we wouldn’t be the same without.