Wilkes University recently named Trystan Griffith, Fairfield, Pa., as the recipient of the Outstanding Adult Learner of the Year Award for 2022. Griffith graduated on Saturday, May 21 with a Bachelor of Arts in history and with minors in sociology and women’s and gender studies.
Griffith transferred to Wilkes from Frostburg State University in Maryland to play basketball, but found a renewed passion for learning. He took every one of the anthropology classes that Linda Winkler, professor of anthropology, taught, even an Honors-level class that required more work.
“Trystan impressed me with his level of engagement and enthusiasm for learning. He is the classic example of a lifelong learner, taking what he learned and applying it to the world around him,” said Winkler, who nominated Griffith for the award.
In addition to being a member of the men’s basketball team, Griffith collaborated with the Farley Library Archives staff to digitize a special collection of scrapbooks of Wilkes athletes from the 1940s through the 1970s, making them available online for the first time.
Griffith faced some challenges during his Wilkes career, however. Several injuries limited his active involvement with the men’s basketball team, and a close family member’s serious illness made it difficult to be away from home. Despite the setbacks he faced, Griffith credits the caring faculty and his basketball coach for helping him to find success. “I loved all my professors and my coach. Anything I needed, they were there for me. I’m thrilled that I came to Wilkes,” Griffith said.
In the future, Griffith is considering a career as a history teacher or social worker.
About the Outstanding Adult Learner of the Year Award
The Outstanding Adult Learner of the Year Award is sponsored by the Luzerne County Council on Adult Higher Education (LCCAHE), a coalition of area colleges and universities focused on continuing education for today’s professionals. Members of LCCAHE are King’s College, Luzerne County Community College, Misericordia University, Penn State Wilkes-Barre and Wilkes University. For thirty-three years, participating institutions have named an award recipient who has overcome adversity and continued to excel academically.
