With his signature vintage jeans and a passion for incorporating collared shirts into everyday casual wear,  Alex Gilliland is a dedicated individual with a relentless drive to learn and grow, and whose Instagram account is one you try to model yours after. Gilliland’s dedication and strong work ethic extend to his involvement in Note in the Pocket, Model UN, Charity Ball, and Cross Country.

A fan of thrifting, international thrifting to be precise, Gilliland stays on the lookout for cool finds while traveling abroad. His favorite finds, ones he’s very proud of, are a pair of vintage Levi’s engineer jeans (that they no longer make) and a pair of vintage Hilfiger jeans. 

Gilliland thrifts way more when he travels claiming, “ … [other countries] look to the US for fashion, they’ll get things that are like 10 or 20 years older. And so you can find nice old jeans and nice clothes … you know, clothes were generally of a higher quality, even just 20 years ago, because fast fashion is taking off.” 

To add to his fashion expertise, Alex received a sewing machine last Christmas and has been learning to hem, take in sides, and eventually hopes to master adding patches to clothes. This not only showcases his passion for learning new skills, but will also aid him in his thrifting journey.

Gilliland extends this love for fashion through volunteering for Note in the Pocket, a non-profit organization aiming to provide quality clothing to homeless and impoverished children and families. He has been involved with the Note in the Pocket Teen Board for four years, organizing seven clothing drives, three of which took place at Enloe.

Charity Ball is an essential part of the Eagle experience, of which Alex lends his expertise. Being a member of the publicity subcommittee, Alex helps create posters and banners that contribute to Charity Ball’s fundraising efforts. One large role Alex has held in Charity Ball was his role as Multimedia Officer—tasked with organizing press relationships and obtaining interviews with big stations including News & Observer. 

Alex joined Model UN just last year, but has become very involved, and has managed to leave a lasting impression. Gilliland took on the role of Treasurer, a notoriously hard position, where he works to plan the logistics of conferences and handle registration. 

“I’m glad he’s there as he makes sure the club runs smoothly internally, making sure everyone has a good experience,” says Esha Patwardhan, a fellow board member in Model UN.  

Alex’s determination and experience makes him qualified and perfect for this role, “He’s used whatever knowledge he has from charity ball and fundraising, and applied it to his position and made everything very streamlined,” Esha states.

A constant throughout Gilliland’s high school career has been Cross Country. Not relating to international affairs, service, or clothes, Cross Country is also an outlier. Originally joining Enloe’s Cross Country team to meet new people before freshman year, Alex has been able to work on his individual progress, and have fun running. 

Gilliland is looking to “throw himself into something totally different after high school.”  Having been born and raised in Raleigh, living in all but two houses right down the street from one another, and having all his relatives reside in the south, Gilliland is naturally eager to seek out new experiences.

“I could really see him striving in a different country. He has so much energy and passion for the things around him and to learn and to grow,” says Bebe Staton . Safe to say we will see Alex Gilliland traveling across continents someday.

Coming full circle, Alex lists his aim for a future career in political science or international affairs. His time spent in Model UN and love for international traveling has grown his love for politics. In fact, Alex decided to begin collecting his “I voted” stickers from each election with two down so far. 

His academic career has also contributed to this post-highschool plan. Alex’s classes: IB Global Politics and AP Comparative Government particularly interested him. “It’s a lot of information kind of thrown at you. But I really like to just sit and take it in and just hear all of it,” Alex says when asked about why he likes those classes. Gilliland says that his time in North Carolina’s Governor’s School fostered his love for philosophy and the social sciences. Having been accepted for Social Sciences, Alex unexpectedly enjoyed his Philosophy class. He describes himself as liking a definite answer—a characteristic not often attributed to philosophy. This opportunity of attending Governor’s School was a highly educational and enlightening one, and will likely aid him in his college endeavors.

As your Senior year comes to an end, and your time in Raleigh is over, The Eagle’s Eye wants to wish you all the best in whatever your future holds. Above all, we hope you find amazing thrifting treasures wherever your journey takes you.