SAIL Sets First-Year Riley Robinson Up for Success
Riley Robinson makes a strong first impression. His sense of humor and thoughtful manner of speaking suggest the maturity and intelligence of a young adult doing ordinary reflections at the end of their college years. But Riley is no ordinary student and not yet an adult; at just 17 years old, he is halfway through his first year as a first-generation college student and a first-generation high school graduate.
Riley’s career as an exceptional student began in high school. Eager and ambitious, he accelerated his education by taking night classes at Mountain Education Charter High School to graduate early. After finding that he could not live on campus at other universities because of his early graduation, Riley chose to attend Piedmont, intending to transfer after a year. Piedmont, however, proved too good to leave.
“I feel like I get to make more personal connections, and those have been very meaningful. I don’t think I could get the same thing somewhere else,” says Riley.
Those personal connections began on an especially interesting note. As a Voyager in Piedmont’s SAIL Program, Riley attended special events before the beginning of his first semester designed to acquaint him and his peers with campus life. One of those events was a hiking trip near Camp Mikell in Toccoa. Riley and his group (accompanied by SAIL Captain Jim Peeples) set out on their hike but soon realized an issue; their map had led them on a trail that had yet to be completed, and they were lost.
“It wasn’t funny in the moment,” says Riley, “but it’s pretty funny now.” And, Riley says, it helped him get to know the people around him quite well. One of those people is Ineke Dyer, director of the SAIL Program, who helped guide Riley’s group out via phone. Reminiscing about the experience, she had high praise for Riley.
“Riley is an incredible example of how to pick yourself up after experiencing adversity and follow through with goals you set for yourself,” she said. “Rather than call it quits, he took some time to regroup and jumped right back in to finish out the retreat. He exudes grit and determination and has proven himself an excellent student. He has invested in the Piedmont campus community during his short time at Piedmont. Riley will accomplish great things and is already making his mark on Piedmont.”
One of the ways Riley is making that impact is by cofounding VOICE (Voices Offering Insight, Compassion, and Empathy), a club aimed at building connections between staff, counselors, and students. “A friendship club, essentially,” Riley calls it, “a place where students struggling to find community on campus can find that.”
While he looks forward to launching VOICE during college, the more distant future is always in mind. As a double major in health administration and biology, Riley hopes to become a doctor and, eventually, a professor. His ambition and inspiration come from his desire to help others; he says he wants to make an impact, whether medical or academic.
His impact is already felt on our campus and will surely be felt for the remainder of his time as a student. We are proud to have a student as exceptional as Riley, who exemplifies daily what it means to be a Lion!
To learn more about the SAIL Program, visit this link.