Grey Graham has always loved the outdoors, and it is in this interest that he discovered his hobby of fly fishing. Though neither parent was ever largely interested in fishing, Graham uncovered this passion through his love of nature and marine life. 

“Neither of my parents has ever fished before. They still don’t fish. And so, for me, I’ve always loved the outdoors. I’ve always loved nature, and I’ve always just been kind of an outdoorsy guy. [I was] never really a big video game person. From an early age, I was involved with some things related to marine biology,” Graham said.

Through his hobby, Graham has made valuable connections with other fly fishers, developing worthwhile relationships with people of similar interests. Fly fishing has opened up new opportunities and possibilities for him.

“You meet incredible people through [fly fishing]. I’ve made a number of amazing friends. We are all passionate about fly fishing. For me, I do work with an Oceanographic Institution. It’s just something that you can really connect with other people about,” Graham said.

For Graham, fly fishing has served as a means to connect with others but also to engage in personal growth. He was drawn to the sport because of the ability to control his odds as well as understanding the fish. Graham also benefits greatly from fly fishing because it alleviates his stress. 

“[I like] just being able to kind of control, to an extent, the odds by researching and getting the right equipment. Mastering the technical aspects of it and understanding the behavior of fish [are also very compelling aspects for me]. [I find it interesting] to understand how to find fish and how to find the right watersheds, too. Fly fishing really drew me in as it really takes my mind off of all the other stresses, like my daily life and everything else that I’m going through,” Graham said. 

Fly fishing formed a connection between Graham and the environment as it gave him a reason to care about his surroundings. His goal is to teach others about his passion and to hook them on the idea of preserving nature and its beauty. 

“A lot of times, kids don’t really have a reason to care about our watersheds or really about the environment. That isn’t something that’s like hooking or attaching them. There also isn’t a connection between themselves and the environment. But fly fishing brought that connection to me, and I wanted to inspire that connection in others. That’s why I started the micro-course: to teach others and to try to spread my passion to others through fly fishing. And also hook them possibly on the conservation,” Graham said.

Noticing the deterioration of his surrounding environment, Graham took action and started his micro-course. Through fly fishing, he realized that he could make an impact and hoped to inspire other kids to do the same. 

“I started the micro-course because fly fishing brought to my attention a lot of the degradation and deterioration of a lot of our local watershed environments. I noticed that I got involved in some organizations … that work on restoring a lot of our local watersheds. [Fly fishing] brought me into an area of action that I wouldn’t have otherwise been involved in. I wanted to inspire that in other kids as well. I wanted to teach fly fishing to kids because it’s just an amazing sport that takes you to beautiful places. It gives you something to care about,” Graham said.

Wanting to have some kind of impact on the Malvern campus, Graham decided that an independent study would be the best way of achieving his goal. This initial idea later developed into the current fly fishing micro-course he runs weekly. 

“I wanted to have an impact on [the Malvern] campus. So I decided that I wanted to have an independent study. I just wanted to share my knowledge, … my love for the outdoors, nature, ecology, and fly fishing, and my desire to teach it to others … It kind of just happened and developed into a micro-course,” Graham said. 

Grey Graham, a senior at Malvern Prep, enjoys teaching others about his hobby and passion: fly fishing. An avid fly fisherman, Graham, has discovered the valuable benefits of creating your own independent study and micro course. He hopes to demonstrate that you can teach others about anything that you are passionate enough about.