Inspired by this year’s yearbook theme, the Blue & White staff is celebrating students who “found the silver lining” in challenging situations. The phrase reflects the idea that even dark clouds have a bright edge, symbolizing hope and growth in adversity. Join us each week as we showcase a student or staff member who has shown remarkable optimism and resilience.

Growing up, volleyball consumed senior Cannon Fink’s life. She spent her childhood cheering her two older sisters, Clair and Lydia, on from the stands of their volleyball games at Philo High School in their hometown of Zanesville, Ohio.

She always expected to one day be in their place. In the 7th grade,  she joined her middle school’s girls’ volleyball team and planned to play through her senior year of high school. She couldn’t imagine a reality where volleyball wasn’t an important part of her life.

Fink moved to Granville before beginning her freshman year of high school in search of better opportunities and continued to play volleyball with Granville for two more seasons. The summer before her junior year, Fink was preparing for her fifth season playing volleyball when she got the news that she didn’t make the team. It was as if her life had been upended, and after spending the past four years planning to follow in her sister’s footsteps, she was unsure of what her future would now hold.

“[Stepping away from volleyball] allowed me to figure out what I want and want to do in the future, instead of focusing on a path that wasn’t mine in the first place,” Fink said.

After spending her entire childhood immersed in volleyball, and four years of her own life playing it, she was unsure that she knew who she was without the sport that mattered so much to her and her family. She was worried that her family would be disappointed in her, and she struggled to feel like she was enough. Despite her worries, taking time away from volleyball allowed Fink to discover her identity beyond the expectations that had been placed on her by herself and her family.

After watching her sisters receive scholarships to play volleyball at the collegiate level, she felt like she was living in their shadow. Her love for volleyball faded as she discovered her interests beyond her sport. During her sophomore year, she became involved in Blue Ace Media (BAM), Granville’s journalism and media club, and took up photojournalism. She also discovered her love for ceramics by taking the 2D/3D art class offered at GHS. 

By summertime, volleyball was no longer a priority, and her passion for the sport was gone.

“The coaches could tell my heart wasn’t in it anymore,” she said. 

“I thought I had let down my family,” Fink said. “I thought I wasn’t strong enough, I wasn’t good enough, and I just wasn’t good enough to be a part of my family.”

Now that she didn’t have volleyball taking up most of her time, she could focus on the things that were important to her. She was able to put in more hours at her job, devoted more of her time to being involved in BAM, and became passionate about advocating for various humanitarian crises around the world.

She credits leaving volleyball as the reason that she’s been able to find her true crowd, too.

“I definitely wouldn’t have the friends I have now if I was still in volleyball, and I think it was a blessing in disguise because I became the person I am now,” Fink said.

Not only has Fink found herself, but she’s also been able to turn her experience with discovering her identity outside of volleyball into something bigger than self-discovery.

In September of this year, she decided that this experience would be the topic of her personal essay for the college application process. She was nervous but sent her essay on her struggles to find herself to four colleges, one of which was Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina.

“I submitted my college essay to my top choice, Appalachian State, and I got in,” Fink said. “It’s my dream school. The fact that this hardship allowed this outcome is amazing.”

Today, Fink is the Photo Editor for both BAM and the GHS Publications class. She’s currently deciding between her top schools, but Appalachian State is her top choice. Over the next four years, she plans to study English while continuing to explore her passion for journalism and activism. 

“[Failure and success] is not linear,” Fink said. “It’s all about perspective.”