Sophomore wrestler Shay Warren took two years off after his freshman year to serve on a mission in Mexico City for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. After an invigorating trip, the grappler is training vigorously in order to once again compete for the Crimson in the 133 lb. class.
On paper, Shay Warren is only a sophomore. But sometimes, the facts can lie.
In many ways, he’s the oldest guy on the men’s wrestling team, having endured more than many seniors. That’s because Warren took two years off to live in Mexico City while on a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“Ever since a younger age, I had decided I wanted to serve a mission for the Church,” the Ogden, Utah native says. “It’s something that helped me out a lot in my life and brought me a lot of happiness, and I wanted other people to have the same opportunity.”
Even before he stepped foot on Harvard’s campus, Warren had made it clear to Harvard coach Jay Weiss that he would be taking two years off after his freshman season.
“Obviously, who am I [to stop him]?” Weiss asks. “And I was like, ‘Think about it. In two years, we’ll pretty much get another recruit with three years to go, which is huge.’”
So, after wrestling his rookie year at Harvard, Warren temporarily hung up his singlet and headed to Provo, Utah for a 10-week training session. Once he finished that, it was off to Mexico. But even the ever-faithful Warren had his doubts.
“It’s kind of a scary thing, leaving your family…for two years completely and not seeing them and not knowing anybody,” Warren admits. “But I knew it’d be okay.”
At the start, things were rough for the wrestler, especially since he did not know the language.
“You kind of feel lonely if you can’t communicate with anyone, and you’re in a different country eating new food, living in new places,” he adds. “But with time I got over that.”
Eventually, Warren came to love the capital. Perhaps more importantly, he began to love its people and see past the myth of rampant violence that pervades the common view of Mexico.
“I always felt safe,” Warren says. “I really saw a lot of good people, a lot of people who were willing to help and willing to lend a hand, which at first might have been a little surprising just because of all the things I had heard about Mexico City before going.”
The Leverett House resident’s schedule was packed, with up to 10 hours each day of missionary work. Warren, who was always joined by a companion in his efforts, would talk to anyone who the pair felt could benefit from hearing the Church’s message, be it people in the streets or individuals who had set up a meeting. And it was this work that Warren found most rewarding.
In one of his favorite tales from his two years in Mexico, Warren tells the story of a man named Edgar. Though Edgar had a solid job and a good family, he still was not satisfied with life. That’s where the wrestler stepped in.
“We started teaching him about Christ and how we need also a spiritual fulfillment…a spiritual side in a relationship with God,” Warren recalls.
The results were profound.
