Grambling State News

New Orleans, La. – Grambling State University (GSU) senior Zaria Griffith was preparing to graduate in the fall of 2021 with a degree in biology when she tragically lost her life in a Thanksgiving evening car accident about an hour south of campus.

Griffith received a tremendous standing ovation during that Fall 2021 GSU graduation ceremony as an honorary degree was presented in her honor, something her family says they will never forget.

And to honor Zaria’s memory, and her love for Grambling State, they have set up a $10,000 endowment in her name at the university to remember her in perpetuity.

A member of the GSU cheer team where she bonded with her Cheer-Phi members, Griffith was well-known for her outstanding abilities serving as a Grambassador and Senior Associate Justice in the university’s Student Government Association.

She also excelled academically, earning Dean’s List honors every semester.

A Chicago native, Griffith began her college career at Central State University before transferring to and finding a home at Grambling State University.

“She wanted to go down South in the beginning, but I think she didn’t want to go too far from home at first,” said Zaria’s father Cedric Griffith. “So I think she decided to go to Central State to be closer to home. But once she got there, she felt it wasn’t challenging enough for her. She said it was like being in high school again, so then she decided she wanted to transfer.”

“Her high school counselor had gone to Grambling and had already told her about it, so my wife Anita and I both took her down there. She liked it and decided to transfer down there. She loved Grambling.”

Griffith’s family — her parents, sisters Mya and Aliyah along with aunts, uncles, and cousins — credit that counselor, Laurenton Ghent, for being a primary force in leading Zaria to Grambling.

Ghent, a Chicago native, who attended Grambling from 1990-97, earning a bachelor’s degree in marketing and a master’s in communications, has been a professional school counselor for Chicago Public Schools since 1998, where he got to know Griffith and ended up eventually guiding her — along with more than 20 other Windy City-based high school graduates — to GSU.

“I’m always representing the ‘G’ — some of the kids get tired about it because I talk about it all of the time and have Grambling stuff all over the schools,” Ghent said. “From their freshmen year to their senior year, I talk about how great of an institution it is. These students do not get a sense of pride a lot of times, so we have to promote that — create that.”

Ghent said he saw great potential in Griffith to create and build on.

“She loved cheerleading and was a good one and had a great mind as far as knowing what she wanted to do as far as nursing and going into the medical field,” Ghent said. “Grambling has great medical programs and great athletics, and the cheerleading coach, Terry Lilly, is a cousin of mine. Zaria had a great interest in Grambling and always wanted to go to an HBCU. She ended up staying close to home first and going to Central State, but then I guess she remembered about Grambling. And she had some friends who had transferred from Central State telling her what a great place Grambling was.”

“I’m close to her family and went to high school with her parents, so I have a deep relationship with the whole family. So, the combination of me talking about Grambling all the time and her academics and what she wants to do with her future, the stars just aligned when she decided she wanted to change colleges and I was ecstatic when she told me she was transferring to Grambling State.”

After her death, Zaria’s family was determined to see her memory, along with her love for Grambling State University, live on.

“It’s been hard —- it’s been hard on all of us,” Cedric Wilson said. “You don’t ever expect anything like this to happen. So, we just started thinking about this endowment scholarship in her name because she loved Grambling and we just wanted to honor her legacy.”

While ultimately wanting the endowment to go to simply go to a student that is deserving and has put forth the hard work to receive the endowment, the family does have some preferences they hope such a student can fulfill.

Those preferences, if possible to be met, would be the endowment recipient being a student from Chicago or a transfer student and a biology major with past academic success showing themselves worthy of receiving the award.

Griffith’s family said Zaria would take extreme pride in knowing her legacy will continue at Grambling State University.

“She would be so proud,” said Zaria’s cousin Kayla Griffith. “She knew her parents, her sisters, her family — everyone loved her. She knew that she was supported, and she knew that they continue to support her and continue her legacy even after her death. I know that she’s proud that she can help offer support because she’s had that support.”

“Her family was always willing to pick up extra jobs and do what they could to help her realize her dreams, so she would love the fact that this (endowment) is alleviating those worries for someone and giving them a chance to go to school like she was always able to.”

Zaria’s family presented a $10,000 check to GSU President Rick Gallot during the 50th annual Bayou Classic festivities last month in New Orleans.

“We just wanted to give back to Grambling the way Zaria did,” said Griffith’s mother Anita. “She was a Grambassador, on student government and was just well-known around campus and I just feel that we wanted to give back to Grambling the same way she gave back and I’m sure she would be smiling down on us right now, especially when we presented the president with the check. Even though Grambling didn’t win the game, she would still be happy.”

“Zaria always wanted us to go to the Bayou Classic and being down there, we saw what she had been saying about all the love. We went to Grambling’s hotel after the game to present the check and be there for the dinner they had for all the Grambassadors. There was so much love in the air with Grambling taking over the Hilton [Riverside] in New Orleans. Now we see what Zaria meant — it was just an event you have to be part of — experience. And I’m glad we were able to do that for her and honor her in that way.”