In his senior year of high school Griffin Reed began working for the Eye Bank in his home town of Rochester, Minnesota as a procurement technician after taking an anatomy class in high school. Thus marks the beginning of his interest and fascination with all things medical.
“He’s really big into anything medical. So if you tell him you had a surgery…he’s so intrigued…he does this big gasp, puts his hands on the table, and is like ‘Tell me all about it!’”-Marissa Haeny.
Griffin still works for the Eye Bank when he’s back home in Rochester, and for the most part he’s adjusted to removing eye-balls and corneas from the recently deceased.
“It was spooky. I almost passed out the first time, because I got an especially gory case. So then, after that I got the hang of it. So i got used to it.”-Griffin Reed
Now Griffin is a senior Biology major looking to go to medical school in the fall of 2016. Besides classes and being actively engaged in research Griffin also finds the time to be involved with a number of organizations on campus including Collegiate Fellows (CF), Sigma Alpha Epsilon, and tutoring in the Chemistry and Biology departments.
“Griffin is one of the most genuine people who is truly interested in you as a person. He’s someone you can always rely on even if you maybe haven’t talked in a week, a month, or two months. He always has your back.”-Marissa Haeny
Talking about what motivates him in all the things he is involved with, Griffin pointed to his values. He highly prizes honesty in himself and others, especially when it’s tough to be honest such as during conflict or when it comes to criticism.
He also prizes integrity and following through on what you say you are going to do and living out your values. Through his values he recognizes the importance of his actions and how they impact others.
What really makes Griffin awesome though is that he doesn’t just talk about his values, he lives them out. Talking to his friends, all noted that he was first and foremost a genuinely caring and engaging person as well as a very loyal and true friend.
“He’s very thoughtful. He has a stack of thank you cards, and he makes sure to show appreciation and show thanks for what people do.”- Scott Mulder
“Griffin is one of the most genuine people who is truly interested in you as a person…He’s someone you can always rely on even if you maybe haven’t talked in a week, a month, or two months. He always has your back.”-Marissa Haeny
His personality and values translate into his work as a CF helping him to recognize that what he does has a direct impact on the quality of someone else’s Gustavus experience, and this keeps him motivated to do his best in his role. Through CF-ing as well, he has come to know Charlie Potts, one of his role models.
Griffin looks up to Charlie because he is able to have fun with his work while still accomplishing a lot and doing good work for the community.
Overall, Griffin has been enormously successful in his time here at Gustavus. I asked him if he had any advice for anyone reading for their time at Gustavus, and he replied without hesitation “Find a good role model, right away…It doesn’t have to be just one person. You can have multiple role models. If there is someone you think ‘oh, academically i really want to be like them’, but maybe they don’t exactly exemplify all the characteristics you want, you can pick and choose a little bit. That was super helpful for me at gustavus.”
So if you find someone you think is cool like Griffin, don’t be afraid to reach out. Whether it be a student like Griffin, or administrator like Charlie Potts, there are plenty of cool Gusties who would be willing to mentor and be a role model to you.