Most first-year students arrive on campus ready to make their first memories at SEMO, but for Ethan Griggs, a freshman double-majoring in agriculture: pre-veterinary and animal science, the experience feels more like returning home. In fact, SEMO was home—literally—for the first six months of his life.
What began as a brief encounter in a SEMO professor’s office grew into a love story for Ethan’s parents. A year later, they married and welcomed Ethan during their final year at SEMO.
“I was the hall director in Towers West, and I lived in an apartment in the basement,” said Tara Griggs, Ethan’s mother. “My husband drove a shuttle bus for SEMO at the time, so we truly spent all our time at the University. The community advisors who worked with me, now resident assistants, threw me a baby shower, and I vividly remember Ethan running around Towers in a baby bouncer. The residents loved him.”
Ethan was born two weeks before his mother graduated with her master’s degree. Now, almost two decades later, Ethan is back at Towers but this time as a student himself, walking the same sidewalks his parents crossed long before he could walk at all.
“I’ve heard so many stories about campus and places they described to me. I walk past them every day now. It’s strange, but in a good way,” Ethan Griggs said. “Everything feels familiar. I was enamored with SEMO from the start.”
After years of sharing their stories, Ethan said his parents are excited to watch him begin his own journey, like exploring a career in veterinary medicine. It’s easy to stay engaged in his coursework with supportive faculty and involvement opportunities, he said.
“I’ve made great friends and I’m building toward my future,” Ethan Griggs said. “I feel like SEMO is helping me get where I want to be in life. SEMO gave my parents their start, and now it’s doing the same for me.”
For the Griggs family, SEMO represents more than just a University, but a connection that spans generations. That sense of belonging has carried into Ethan’s own experience.
“SEMO is so welcoming, and we couldn’t be more excited that Ethan has found his home here where it all began,” said Tara Griggs.
From infancy in Towers to a student at SEMO, Ethan Griggs’ story has truly come full circle. If you’re ready to start your own SEMO story, visit semo.edu.