Oct 6, 2026 · 5 min · 7 segments
A beloved former Rome student who faced cancer with extraordinary courage will soon have her name permanently displayed at Stokes Elementary, where friends hope Ayla Griffiths’ story will inspire…
A school gymnasium in Rome will soon carry the name of a former student remembered for her courage, compassion, and lasting impact on her community.
The Rome City School District Board of Education voted unanimously Monday to name the Stokes Elementary School Gymnasium in honor of Ayla Charmé Griffiths.
The new name will officially take effect July 1st, 2027.
Griffiths, affectionately known as A, attended Stokes Elementary and later Rome Free Academy.
In August 2007, she was diagnosed with primary refractory Hodgkin's lymphoma.
She continued facing the disease while pursuing her education and was an honor student and junior at Rome Free Academy when she died in February 2010 at the age of 16.
The effort to honor Griffiths was led by her childhood friend, Mackenzie Enos.
She first submitted the proposal in April and later brought it before the school board with a petition signed by more than 300 people.
By Monday, that number had grown to nearly 450.
At a public hearing before the board's vote, Enos and another childhood friend, Caitlin Maxim, spoke emotionally about Griffiths and the example she left behind.
Their message was that this honor is about more than Griffiths' illness.
It is about remembering how she lived as a student who cared about her education, her friends, her family, and her community.
For Maxim, the connection is especially personal.
Time spent visiting Griffiths in the hospital helped inspire her to become a nurse.
She also believes the Stokes Gym is a fitting place to preserve her friend's legacy.
It is where children learn lessons beyond sports.
teamwork, discipline, perseverance, and how to keep going after disappointment.
And someday, Maxim hopes to bring her own children into the school and have them see Isla's name on the wall.
When they ask who she was, Maxim wants to tell them about a girl who once walked those same halls, someone who faced circumstances no child should have to face, but refused to let cancer define who she was.
Now, Isla Griffiths' story will remain part of Stokes Elementary, offering future generations an example of courage when they face challenges of their own.
For more on this story, check out ursentinel.com.
A school gymnasium in Rome will soon carry the name of a former student remembered for her courage, compassion, and lasting impact on her community.
The Rome City School District Board of Education voted unanimously Monday to name the Stokes Elementary School Gymnasium in honor of Ayla Charmé Griffiths.
The new name will officially take effect July 1st, 2027.
Griffiths, affectionately known as A, attended Stokes Elementary and later Rome Free Academy.
In August 2007, she was diagnosed with primary refractory Hodgkin's lymphoma.
She continued facing the disease while pursuing her education and was an honor student and junior at Rome Free Academy when she died in February 2010 at the age of 16.
The effort to honor Griffiths was led by her childhood friend, Mackenzie Enos.
She first submitted the proposal in April and later brought it before the school board with a petition signed by more than 300 people.
By Monday, that number had grown to nearly 450.
At a public hearing before the board's vote, Enos and another childhood friend, Caitlin Maxim, spoke emotionally about Griffiths and the example she left behind.
Their message was that this honor is about more than Griffiths' illness.
It is about remembering how she lived as a student who cared about her education, her friends, her family, and her community.
For Maxim, the connection is especially personal.
Time spent visiting Griffiths in the hospital helped inspire her to become a nurse.
She also believes the Stokes Gym is a fitting place to preserve her friend's legacy.
It is where children learn lessons beyond sports.
teamwork, discipline, perseverance, and how to keep going after disappointment.
And someday, Maxim hopes to bring her own children into the school and have them see Isla's name on the wall.
When they ask who she was, Maxim wants to tell them about a girl who once walked those same halls, someone who faced circumstances no child should have to face, but refused to let cancer define who she was.
Now, Isla Griffiths' story will remain part of Stokes Elementary, offering future generations an example of courage when they face challenges of their own.
For more on this story, check out ursentinel.com.
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