Every month The Feather highlights one individual from the student body who demonstrates exemplary character and or admirable dedication to classes or extracurricular activities. Teachers choose those who display the before mentioned characteristics in the classroom setting. The objective of the following article is to honor the effort of students to live by Caleb Code Standards: Seek Truth, Speak Life, Serve Others. 

The previous student of the month article features Owen McCann.

Sophomore and senior English teacher, Andrea Donaghe, selected Mark (Riley) Goldsborough as Student of the Month for November, based on certain character traits he exhibits in class.

Donaghe stated that she saw in Goldsborough willingness to work as well as balancing school, sports, and hobbies. Donaghe also commented on his relationship with fellow students and cheerful smile.  

“Riley is one of those students that doesn’t have to be the loudest in class or first to answer the questions,” Donaghe said. “He is diligent in his work, brings excellence to all he does and is incredibly polite. There is a humorous side to him that is conveyed in his writing and creativity.

“Riley gets along well with others in his class,” Donaghe continued, “and has successfully balanced academics, athletics and out of school commitments. He is a student that I look forward to seeing each day and continuing to teach here at FCS.”

Goldsborough enjoys PE with coach Hope Villines above any other class. However, his favorite academic class consists of biology with Dr. Karen Walters. He enjoys the class based on Walters’ style of teaching.

“The way Dr. Walters teaches and how she runs her class is really cool,” Goldsborough said. “I’m very interested in how the world works. The way she presents the hows and whys create my interest in the class.”

Part of a family of six, Goldsborough lives with his parents, Jeremy and Stephanie, plus three other siblings. Riley’s older brother, Landon also attends Fresno Christian. Other than Landon, Riley’s younger brother, Marshall, and younger sister, Lydia attend Aspen Valley Prep in Fresno.    

The following podcast furthers Landon Goldsborough’s comments on his brother Riley.

Landon Goldsborough describes his brother, Riley as a go with the flow kind of guy. Landon says that he keeps to himself, but also voices his opinions on certain things.

“He keeps to himself a lot,” Landon said. “He is the kind of person to just go with whatever the rest of the family is doing. He has his own opinions, but he doesn’t voice them unless the family wants to do something that is against what he had in mind. Even when he doesn’t talk, Riley still has a way of conveying his opinion.”

Goldsborough’s passion for music drives his life. His experimentation with music as a hobby became a project that he continues to work with. Goldsborough began to create music at age 11. Back then, he used Garage Band on his iPod to perform the task. The Christmas of 2017, he received an iPad from his parents to continue his music more effectively.

Ever since that Christmas, Goldsborough creates music under the name Parasol. A parasol, similar to an umbrella, protects the user from the sun. To Goldsborough, there lies a deep analogy behind the word and that meaning.

“At first, I picked it just because I thought it was a pretty cool word, but over time it’s developed a meaning for me,” Goldsborough said. “To me, the name parasol is a reminder that we don’t need to shield ourselves from the light just because we think we’re broken, because Jesus wants us to come to him just as we are.”

Older brother LandonGoldsborough supports his brother’s interest in music and admires his dedication in the following podcast.

Goldsborough released his first album on Aug. 3, 2018. The album bears the title “When it Rains”. All of his music and lyrics he writes himself. Goldsborough aspires to make music as a career. People listen to his music for free on Spotify, which contains all of his releases. For those who want to find his music, type “parasol” into the Spotify search bar and click on the artist picture of a purple umbrella. 

For another student of the month read, Student of the month: Owen McCann, for another articles read, Teen Struggles: the Fear of Failure. 

Brayden Iest can be reached via, Twitter and via email.