Four years ago, as David Shuttleworth rode home on the bus after football practice, he didn’t think much of the Temple application he was filling out.

Although he had worked hard at academics during high school, he assumed that his only shot of “making it” would come from a professional football career undertaken after a stint as a college player. School would be little more than a means to an athletic end.

Today, Shuttleworth’s life looks nothing like that vision: He is set to graduate summa cum laude from Temple with a double major in philosophy and economics, and will be going to the London School of Economics in the fall.

Shuttleworth grew up in impoverished areas of Philadelphia, bouncing around from high school to high school. “I really thought to get out of that situation I’d have to play sports,” said Shuttleworth, who played wide receiver and defensive back for the Owls for two years, and who is the first member of his family to graduate from college.

He began his career at Temple as a business major, a practical backup plan in the event that football fell through, but quickly grew bored of his classes.

“I realized there had to be more to my college experience than this,” he said, noting that though he felt business school wasn’t for him, he remained very interested in the application and analysis of business skills.

His interest in the methodology and theories behind economics had been growing, and he joined the Economics Department in the College of Liberal Arts. Along the way, as football began to fade from view, he picked up a second major in philosophy, where he “found the same analytical rigor as I had in economics.”

During his sophomore year, Shuttleworth decided a change of pace was in order, and planned to transfer to the University of North Carolina. After a week in Chapel Hill he realized the school wasn’t for him and returned to Temple.

“When I came back to Philadelphia, everything really came together for me,” said Shuttleworth. In addition to being inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, he landed jobs as a teaching assistant and a student instructor, and became a writing fellow who tutored legal studies majors. His interest in law had been sparked when he earlier worked at City Hall and the Beasley Firm.

While Shuttleworth knew he eventually wanted to teach law, he also had a desire to pursue a master’s degree in economics. After researching a number of schools, Shuttleworth decided on the London School of Economics, calling it a “great fit.”

“I really didn’t think I’d get in,” Shuttleworth said, citing the school’s 5 percent acceptance rate. “My teachers were all behind me, saying I was a shoo-in and that they’d be surprised if I didn’t get in. I definitely didn’t believe it, though.”

His professors’ predictions were on the mark, and in October Shuttleworth will head to London to study economic history. While he’s overseas, he plans to start applying for law school.

Shuttleworth still plays sports for fun, although athletics has fallen to a distant second behind his academic career. As he prepares to walk down the aisle at Commencement, he is nursing a tender ankle injured during a pickup basketball game, a small reminder of just how far he’s come over the past four years.