Learning a Community – Griffen Horsley

Born & raised near the shores of Lakes Couchiching and Simcoe in Orillia, Griffen Horsley’s parents were avid boaters, and he spent much of his adolescence at the Port of Orillia and Couchiching Beach.

A postcard of Couchiching Beach Park circa 1960, is very reminiscent of the days where Griffen’s spent his childhood nearly 40 years later.

Small hometowns tend to drive people away, but for Griffen there were no dramatic downsides.

Who is Griffen Horsley? (captions available in both FR and EN). Enjoy this video with a transcript (En).

Knowing he liked art, his mom steered him towards the Orillia Museum of Art & History in his senior year, and Griffen volunteered his summer looping into the local culture. Knowing they needed his help gave him a better sense of responsibility, and now has plans to continue working with museums.

Studying anthropology has definitely changed the way he thinks and has made him more aware of Orillia’s role in shaping him into who he’s become.

Griffen Horsley – Small Town University (captions available in both FR and EN). Enjoy this video with a transcript (En).

Orillia’s Lakehead University is effectively a small city within a small city, but the biggest advantage for Griffen has been the ability to work closely with his professors. The close-knit settings allowed him to directly interact with incredibly intelligent people and was able to form mentor-like connections.

Griffen Horsley – Living in Orillia (captions available in both FR and EN). Enjoy this video with a transcript (En).

Though Griffen plans to leave and expand his experiences, he sees himself returning to his beautiful home town down the road, reconnecting with the lakes and the sense of community the artsy downtown has brought him.

There will always be a very familiar and
strong sense of home here in Orillia.