Photo by Tim Gronendyke
By Brodey Price
The heart of a man can go many places. Travelling far and wide, one can see many miles, recognize many faces, and experience many things. It can be lifted, broken, fixed, and taken away. This heart, in particular, has lived in video games, in the United States Marines, and on the volleyball court.
Tyler Gronendyke, a first-year student at William Peace University who is studying simulation and game design, has decided that Peace would be where his heart resides for the next few years. After leaving California and the Marines, he returned home to rural North Carolina and hit the ground running. Not wanting to waste any time being idle, he went to Peace, committed to the Men’s volleyball team, and is a part of the Peace Overwatch and Rocket League esports team.
Gronendyke was born in Southern Virginia, moving to North Carolina at the age of four, and has lived there ever since. His early life was filled with busy work, as his parents enrolled him in many extracurricular activities to try to excite him from his boring school life.
“School was kind of hard for me, actually, because it was so easy; some classes didn’t challenge me a lot,” says Gronendyke. “Anyone who’s been in the same boat, I’m sure, can understand that it doesn’t feel like you’re learning. So there’s no motivation there. There’s no reason to want to excel.”
Things picked up for him later in life as he took on many new responsibilities, going off to join the United States Marines for two and a half years.
“I worked in intelligence. I was stationed out in California. I did that for a little while, and I got out in early December of last year, in 2025, and had a quick turnaround, got accepted here at Peace. And I was happy that everything worked out well, even with a very short application window to kind of get in and get situated. I got moved in just fine, and I had a lot of helpful people stick their neck out just to make sure that I was all set to go,” says Gronendyke.
A large reason for Gronendyke enrolling at Peace was the Simulation and Game Design program. Despite his passion for being physical, both with volleyball and the Marines, his heart always longed for video games.
“Well, one of my dreams is actually someday to publish a video game of my own, maybe to work on one with a buddy of mine,” Gronendyke states.
Another large reason was his love for volleyball. During his time in high school and during the Marines, he found his love for the sport, dominating the courts in his high school club, and playing for fun while he was stationed in California. When he started his application process for Peace, he found their up-and-coming volleyball team and decided to try out.
Gronendyke was 16 when he started playing the sport, playing as a starter for his 18-year-old team.
“I first wanted to play volleyball after I’d seen an anime by the name of Haikyu. It depicts two kinds of high school, freshman age guys going about their journey, learning how to play, how to get better at volleyball, learning how to play with each other and as a team, and just evolving throughout the show.”
Gronendyke keeps his head high, taking on any challenges that dare show their face against him, and laughing all along the way. With his quick wits, incredible physicality, and never-ending passion, he’s not just a great player for any team he’s on; he’s also one of the best people to have at your side.