High school mourns loss of student role model

Oxford, N.C. — Granville Central High School is grieving the loss of a student who died in Saturday in an ATV wreck near Elizabeth City.

Trevor Guess, who was also the captain of the school's football team, was one of the first students to attend the school, when it opened last August.

School officials say he was influential in setting the tone of the school and made an impact that will be felt for generations to come.

"People wanted to be around him, and that was a good stabling block for us," said Granville Central's athletic director, Barry Moore.

As football captain, Guess would have started this season as a quarterback and middle line backer.

The football team is now practicing without him.

"They are just sort of going through the motions, right now," Moore said.

That's indicative of what is happening all over the school right now, Assistant Principal Jeannie Roberson said.

"It is going to be a loss, and even though it's happening in the summer, we are going to feel it when they (students) come back to school," Roberson said.

Roberson said that is because Guess was a role model for many students with his respect for teachers, warm personality and quick wit.

"He called himself my bodyguard, and that's the one thing I'll always remember," she said. "Every time I'd go out to the buses, he'd say, 'Can I walk you out to the buses, Mrs. Roberson? I'm your bodyguard.'"

Guess is the first student the school has lost.

"We'll miss him," Moore said. "We will definitely miss him."

Guess's funeral on Wednesday will have a police escort. His father is a Durham police officer.

ATV riders from across the country are expected to also pay tribute with a ride in his memory.