Even days later, Destrehan High School’s Cole Grieshop shook his head in disbelief.
“It’s crazy. It’s absolutely crazy. I did not expect anything,” Grieshop said with a smile.
The Louisiana Department of Education Grieshop as the 2016 Louisiana High School Student of the Year last week at a ceremony held at the Louisiana State Museum in Baton Rouge.Grieshop, the son of Vance and Patricia Grieshop of Destrehan, was selected based on criteria measuring academic achievement, leadership skills, character, and service to the school and community.
Grieshop said he was stunned upon the announcement of his name as the statewide winner.
“Other than shocked, I was just so honored,” he said. “Ihad met the other five candidates throughout the day. They brought so much to the table. They’d done things I couldn’t imagine doing. One went to China and knows three languages. “I don’t know what exactly made them select me. I’m grateful for it. I was having a lot of fun with the other five. I’m actually really curious to see how they end up and want to keep in touch.”
As part of the award’s criteria, Grieshop wrote an essay and conducted an interview at both the regional and state level. Grieshop wrote his on the topic of leadership.
He said all indications were that he won a very close race.
“They definitely said it was a very difficult choice between us. It really was the case,” he said. “The high school level was the last group to leave. I asked one of the judges after the fact and he said it was really, really close. What put me over the top … I don’t know. I couldn’t tell you.”
Destrehan principal Stephen Weber said Grieshop has consistently been a model student and person through his experiences with the senior.
“Cole models GPA – grit, perseverance, and (a positive) attitude – our theme for Destrehan High School this year,” Weber said. “In fact, Cole consistently exemplifies these characteristics every day. He displays high character and is destined to be a successful citizen.
“I am not surprised at all that the judges selected this remarkable leader as the state’s high school student of the year.”
Grieshop’s accomplishments are numerous. He will graduate in the top 1 percent of his class and has a strong bid to be Destrehan’s valedictorian, maintaining a 4.0 unweighted GPA in Destrehan’s advanced studies curriculum. He earned regional student of the year honors in 2012 as well. He earned a composite score of 33 on the ACT and was the president of the National Honor Society in his senior year. He was also a started on DHS’ soccer team.
He has stayed extremely active in the community, completing more than 400 hours of documented volunteer work with special needs individuals. And, somehow, he still found the time to pursue his love of writing; Grieshop published a novel in December, “What Tides Offer Islands.”
He is a Deans’ Honor Scholarship recipient from Tulane University, where he will attend to further his education going forward.
While Grieshop originally planned on pursuing a career as a neurologist, he noted that “plans have a funny way of changing.” He has shifted gears, now eying a chemical engineering degree before pursuing a career in environmental law.
“Environmental lawyers are an expanding market,” Grieshop said. “It’s going to be a huge need. It’s also something I think that can allow me to make an impact throughout the world. Certainly, if you’re changing policy for not only a company, but even in some capacity for some sort of environmental agency, you’ll have a lot of impact directly attributed to you and the work you did. I see it as (a career path that could be) very rewarding.”
As his Destrehan tenure winds down — Grieshop and the rest of Destrehan’s senior class graduate May 12 — one would probably be wise to assume there will be no instance of the dreaded “senioritis” with this driven soon-to-be alumnus.
“The thought has slipped in, but it hasn’t affected my GPA yet,” he joked. “So we’re going to try to keep that at bay until the day I walk off that stage.”
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