Humans of Haas: Daniel Shepard
Written by Annie Wang.
What is your story?
I am a father of two kids and currently own the home that I live in, which is in Hayward. When my girlfriend, now wife, became pregnant, I was in the process of applying to Berkeley. Our parents were not really supportive and actually kicked us out of our homes, so I had to put that off for a while. But, we eventually were able to support ourselves: I worked two jobs by working at a law firm during the day and a restaurant at night. However, this wasn’t sustainable in the long run and I knew I had to go the extra mile if I wanted to grow, so I started going to night school at a local community college to go back. I also applied to Haas because if I went back to school I knew it would have to be somewhere great like Haas. The balance of family and school is crazy but it’s the most rewarding decision of my life!
I want to be able to use business for good. In business it’s important to maximize profit but I want to instead substitute “social good”. For example, marketing in business is used to get people to buy the a product. However, I’d like to use marketing principles to convince people to resolve interpersonal and global conflicts. In the long run, I really want to help people become better versions of themselves. I want to motivate people individually and motivate communities to come together. I want to inspire everyone to resolve conflict around the world.
What is your favorite place on campus at Haas?
My favorite place at Haas is the Undergraduate Lounge in the Bank of America forum. I normally go in there and hook up my laptop the extra monitor there so I can have an extra screen. I also love the social aspect of working in the Undergrad Lounge People walk in there all the time, and I appreciate being able to talk with people that are coming in and out. Maybe you will find me in there!
