Konner Shebester

The Ultimate Goal-Getter

Setting his sights higher.

Konner Shebester already has 18 hours of college credit accumulated by taking every advanced course his high school offers. So, his goal of earning a bachelor’s degree in just three semesters, while lofty, is well in sight. Academics isn’t the only area where Konner sets—and achieves—aspirational goals for himself. “We are goal-setters,” he says when describing his family. “Whether that is striving for straight As, having the best batting average or the most steals. That means not quitting until the job is done and giving it your all.” This approach to life has earned Konner a long list of accolades in the classroom and in athletics, including being named the offensive player of the year in both baseball and basketball and becoming an All-District receiver in football.

Of course, reaching such high levels of success isn’t always easy, and it is especially difficult when you are recovering from open heart surgery. Due to a cardiac anomaly discovered during freshman year, Konner had to put his athletic aspirations on hold with no guarantee of ever being able to compete again. “This health issue set me back mentally and physically for quite some time. I struggled with the fact that my sternum was held together with just a few pieces of wire, and it took me up until my senior year to feel like I had my stamina and elusiveness back,” he says. Fortunately, Konner was eventually cleared to return to sports and has since addressed every challenge in front of him with 100% effort.

Perhaps because of his own health journey, Konner is passionate about doing his part to support other young people facing challenges. As an officer of his high school’s Future Farmers of America chapter, he is a leader in annually donating time and gifts to the Toby Keith Foundation, an organization that supports families with children undergoing chemotherapy treatments at Oklahoma Children’s Hospital. He is a Special Olympics volunteer and he supports the Gold Star Classic Special Needs Stock Show where he partners with special needs individuals to help them gain the confidence to exhibit animals during the show. Konner’s grandfather taught him early on that, “success is not always measured by what is in your bank account or titles you hold, but what makes you happy and fills you with pride.” For Konner, that translates into working hard to achieve his own goals while giving back to ensure others have the support they need to reach theirs.