Who comes to mind when these three words are mentioned: authentic, witty, and kind? Your mind may immediately go to senior Riley Aiken. We are delighted to have Riley in the spotlight, for he is one-of-a-kind at Concord High School. With his funny jokes and caring attitude, who is better for the spotlight than he?
Aiken has attended Concord since 7th grade, and during that time, he has made many friends and shared memories with them. Out of all of his memories, his favorite memory was this fall: “All the times that I get to hang out with my friends. Probably the volleyball match that we went to see.”
Aiken has enjoyed having classes with Mr. Saucedo, Ms. Kelly, and Mrs. Osterhout the most. Mrs. Osterhout, an English and leadership teacher, only had Riley in leadership his senior year and Maymester last year. She enjoys his funny jokes, his ability to work with others, and his passion for his hobbies. Mrs. Osterhout pinpoints what makes him stand out in the crowd: “He is not afraid to be himself. He doesn’t ever put on a front or do anything that the bigger group is doing.”
Courtesy of the Concord Chronicle (Lucy Otto)
He participated in quiz bowl, student council, and NHS during his senior year. In his free time, he enjoys hanging out with friends, writing, poetry, and playing games, like volleyball. Recently he has been enjoying sports more often, his favorite at the moment is volleyball. Even though Concord does not have a men’s volleyball team, he enjoys playing it when he can. If he could change one thing about Concord, it would be the lack of opportunities: “We lose opportunities because we are a small school. There are a lot of funding issues and a limited amount of sports. Very minimal clubs, and when we do there are only two people in it.” When asked about what he will miss the most about Concord he shared: “ The people and the closeness that Concord has since it is a small school.
That said, he hopes to join a college men’s volleyball team or club. Although he has not set in stone where he plans to attend college, he has a few schools in mind: Albion College, Spring Arbor University, and Central Michigan University. He plans to study environmental science or athletics.
Senior Dustin Hamilton started being friends with Aiken in early junior year. Dustin met him through friend groups; his first impression was that he was funny. Over time they became close friends. Dustin enjoys spending time with him most at sports events and carpooling together. Despite their short friendship, he talks about how Aiken inspires him: “ He tries to get me out of my comfort zone. He doesn’t necessarily care about what other people think about him.” He also states: “It inspires me to let loose and not to care about what people think about me.” Hamilton also shares his favorite memory with him: “ Lleyton, Riley, and I went to Culvers one day, and he waited 30 minutes for his custard, and when the waiter came back, he bribed the waiter to bring some back for the rest of us.”
Throughout his junior year, Riley continued to expand his friend group as he built a stronger relationship with Lletyon Bauman who also became a close friend of his. Lletyon enjoys going to sports games with him and hanging out whenever they can. Bauman explains what most people don’t know about him: “He used to be quiet, but now he is friends with everyone and he talks to everyone.”
For his younger peers, Aiken gives some advice for school and outside of school: “ Be kind to other people, but also yourself. If you can’t be nice to yourself, how can you be nice to others.” He adds, “The biggest thing for school is don’t procrastinate. And outside of school do things you love. Don’t involve yourself a ton with people you don’t want to hang out with.”
It has been a privilege to write about my former classmate, Riley Aiken. It will be sad to see the one-of-a-kind Riley Aiken leave, but Concord wishes you all the best and hopes to see you continue to grow.
