If you met Meeker senior Zolan Gribble a few years ago,youprobablywouldn’t recognize the young man today.
He sits and talks enthusiastically about his hobbies -- music, horror movies and martial arts, to name a few. He’s ahead on his school work and loves helping his grandfather on the ranch.
But according to teacher Lindsey Potts, that wasn’t always the story.
“I have seen Zolan grow so much as a person because I have had him for three years this year. He used to be very quiet and not rarely talked to anyone,” she said. “He has gone from behind on deadlines to working ahead on deadlines. He went from not really knowing what he wanted to do when he graduated to having goals.”
Even Zolan admits that his freshman year wasn’t so good. He said he was ineligible pretty much the entire year and failed more than one class, so had to retake them “So, yeah, it wasn’t good. But then, you know, last year and the year before this year have been pretty good, though. It was just my freshman year that was a fluke,” he said.
Being in class with Mrs. Potts has really helped him, he said. It’s helped with learning to focus.
And learning is something he loves, even though he said he doesn’t always show it. He’s a fast learner, despite being on the autism spectrum, and loves teaching himself new things. When he’s not doing that, he’s spending time with his friends either in person or chatting through a Discord server.
It’s music that really gets him excited -- Zolan is in the school band, where he plays trumpet. He also is learning how to play the guitar and has a harmonica, though admits he’s not sure how to play it yet. He started teaching himself the guitar, but now takes lessonsinShawnee,andhas a few solos under his belt.
It’s all kinds of music that gets to him.
“I love almost all kinds. Jazz, blues, bluegrass, stuff like that… rock and rap and whatnot, I do like, I guess kind of EDM itself as well. But um, I’ve been listening to music pretty much my entire life and I just I love learning about a new different different genres of music and stuff,” he said.
He’s looking forward to the marching band’s trip to Washington D.C. with Tecumseh and North Rock Creek later this year.
Zolan understands the importance of working hard. It’s his advice to underclassmen -- work hard to succeed in life.
“And if you fall down, get back up,” he said, adding that it helps to learn to clean up your own messes, even though it’s a lesson he admits it took him a while to learn.
He certainly puts in the work not only at school, but out at his grandparents’ ranch where he helps his grandfather with everything from unloading feed to taking care of the animals, which he loves. He also knows how to work most of the farm equipment. He’s also in Ag this year and enjoys going to the greenhouse and the show barn.
He loves the country life. “I think just like being out in the open air and, you know, taking care of animals,” he said.
Zolan plans to keep working hard as he enters life after high school. He’s hoping to get into Gordan Cooper, where he’ll enter theITnetworkingprogram.
Potts said she feels pure joy watching as Zolan moves on, and she’s proud of how far he has come.
“I know he still has lots of room for growth. However, it makes me so happy to see and know he will go into the world and he has a plan to be successful and more prepared than where he was,” she said, adding that she hopes he will be a productive member of society and achieve all his goals he’s set for after high school. “I then hope he continues to keep goal setting and continues to reach those goals.”
For Zolan, he plans to spend as much time as he can this last semester with his friends and try to make the most of it.
“It does make me sad to know that I won’t see probably a lot of my friends again, but I’ll make new friends along the way, so I knowthat.Ihavemygrandparents and everything to support me as well,” he said.
This article is part of the Senior Spotlight series, which highlights a different senior from high schools in the Lincoln County News coverage area each week.