RiverCity valedictorian plans to pursue history
In many ways, Griffin Stiles is a young man out of time.
In the age of digital music, he’s devoted to vinyl records. In an era where the stocking cap is a fashion statement, he prefers to wear a fedora.
And as his classmates at the RiverCity Leadership Academy launch themselves into the future, Stiles plans to dive into the past with all the passion and dedication he can muster.
“In many ways, he has also demonstrated a level of maturity far beyond is years,” his school adviser, Ned Fadeley, wrote. “Beyond the record player on his desk spinning old jazz records and classical overtures; his fedora, slacks, and tweed blazer; there’s a young man who treats his peers and teachers with an uncommon level of respect.
“Not to put words in his mouth, but it seems to me after sharing a classroom with him the last four years that his goal has always been to cultivate the personality of a true gentleman from years long past. At this point, I’d say mission accomplished.”
Stiles takes that assessment for the compliment that it is.
“I do think that we’ve lost something we used to have,” he said. “I think we’ve lost some of our civility – we seem to think that it’s old-fashioned. I think we’ve become less sophisticated, and I would be remiss if I didn’t say that I was disappointed in my peers because they seem to have a lack of awareness about the world around them. I think they’re wholly lacking in an understanding of things like history and grammar.”
An admitted Anglophile, Stiles relies on the BBC for an understanding of world affairs and a semester studying in England proved to be an eye-opener.
“I tried to go without having a lot of expectations, but I admit I did watch a lot of British television before I left,” he said. “I watched things like ‘Doctor Who,’ but I wasn’t surprised to find that those programs don’t reflect what it’s actually like when you get there.
“I stayed in a town just south of Birmingham. It was a very working-class area, and I discovered that communities in England like to stick to themselves more than we do. And I found that family roles are different. They still stick to more stereotypical, traditional roles. Fathers are almost always the breadwinner for the family. I think for students, parents tend to be more of a benefactor for their kids than we do here.”
When it comes to stereotypical Americans, Stiles was happy to provide an alternative.
“I think they tend to think of American kids as being cheeseburger-eating, illiterate fat people,” he noted. “That’s totally not me, and I was happy to break that stereotype.”
Stiles is passionate about history, particularly nautical history. He plans to make it his life’s work.
“There’s something so incredible about the age of sail,” he said. “I love to read about that era. I’m going to attend Carroll College in the fall, and I plan to major in history and minor in anthropology. After that, I want to study archeology and my end goal is to get my Ph.D.”
He wants to visit and study sunken sailing ships, he said.
“I can just imagine what it would be like to dive down and just hover on the deck of a ship from that area. I want to experience that sense of awe,” he said.