Zachary Giles, just weeks away from leaving the hornet’s nest of Hillside High School, said he just wanted to “leave a mark on Hillside in some manner”.

    From his performance on the football field to his success in the classroom, it’s clear that he has. Giles’ accomplishments have earned him Duke University’s Durham Student of the Week honor.

    A senior in good standing in Hillside’s International Baccalaureate Programme, he ranks in the upper third of his class and is headed to North Carolina Central University this fall on a football scholarship.

    Giles, who plays left guard and center in football and is a member of the Hillside track team, said his uncle Reuben Rivers, who lives in Fayetteville, has motivated him “to use athletics to get where I want to be education-wise.” He said he loves the power he feels on the gridiron.

    It’s just being able to dominate another person, being able to get all of aggression out at once” he said. “It kind of helps me deal with the stress of school and things like that.”

    Giles have earned a slew of honors for his athletic and academic prowess. He was twice named Piedmont Athletic Conference Offensive Lineman of the Year and was honored with the WRAL-TV Extra Effort Award.

     He credits family members, including grandmother Betty Rivers, with steering him in the right direction. “What I’ve heard over the years is to be my own person – don’t really follow the crowd as much as do what I know to do best,” he said. “I’m lucky enough to be able to do a lot of different things. People Call me smart and I guess, a little athletic, so I try to do those to the best of my abilities.

    Hillside Principal Hans D. Lassister wrote in his nomination letter that Giles serves “as a positive and steady force with his peers among the student body. He is an excellent communicator and role model, as his quiet, yet strong demeanor and persona, serve as a basis of operations for those around him.

    Giles said he’s flattered that some of his fellow students would consider him a role model, but it’s not a label he sought out. “I just do it by nature, I guess,” he said, noting that the key to success is structure.

“If you make your life structured and organized, you’ll have time for all the free and fun things you want to do,” he said.

    One of those things Giles loves to do is express himself through art. Those snazzy Hillside senior shirts you’ve seen around town? Those are Giles’s masterpieces.

    “I think it’s being able to create something that no one can think of but me, almost,” Giles said of his love for art. “It’s like my own ideas and thoughts put on paper in a free and creative way. It’s a freedom to do almost anything.

     He hopes to marry his passion for art with his interest in computers by pursuing a career in computer science. “Being able to create the software that I use, as far as the programs I use when I do my graphic design stuff, I think would be cool – it would be the best of both worlds,” he said.

    For now, he‘s excited about spreading his wings as an NCCU Eagle. “I’m looking forward to a winning season in football and a good education.”

The Herald-Sun April 12, 2011 by Melody Guyton Butts