To some people, he's known as Sgt. Griggs.
To others, he's Coach Griggs.
It's a duality Shawn Griggs embraces.
The Jefferson City man's career is that of a sergeant with the Missouri Highway Patrol. And although he's passionate about the job, he's also passionate about coaching children.
They are two careers that work well together, he said.
And the two paths have intersected, he added.
When going into seventh-grade, Griggs moved to Jefferson City with his father. He attended Lewis and Clark Middle School and also a class intended to help the children consider career paths. As part of the class, a trooper came in and gave a presentation on the history of the Highway Patrol. It was the day he decided what he'd be when he grew up.
"I never wanted to be a police officer before that day. I never wanted to be a police officer after that day," Griggs said. "I only wanted to be a highway patrolman."
But, getting to that goal would take time.
As he grew, the boy began playing football. He became a starting lineman on the Jefferson City High School football team. That led to him playing football at Central Methodist University in Fayette.
"I was the first person in my family who went to college. Football was the only reason I got to go to college," Griggs said.
When he graduated, he realized his prospects for football as a career were limited given that he had been the shortest lineman on the team all four years. His passion for coaching, however, developed as he played. He wasn't ready to be done with the sport, and he became a graduate assistant coach for the team.
Unfortunately, he'd earned his bachelor's degree in criminal justice, and the university didn't have a master's program in the field.
Alongside 1,300 other people, Griggs applied for spots in the Missouri Highway Patrol academy, and he was one of 50 accepted.
He received some advice that he took to heart - a lot of people don't get through the academy on the first try, and it takes focus and dedication. So, he quit coaching to be better able to graduate from the training.
He and 37 of his colleagues made it through.
Coaching was not in the cards for the time. Griggs received his first assignment in the St. Louis area. That was fine with the young graduate, because his mother and grandparents are there. And, it allowed him to serve on details, such as presidential details, that are rarer in other parts of the state.
He worked hard, and his supervisors recognized his potential as a leader. He was offered four promotions to corporal, but turned each down. The promotions came with additional duties but also required him to relocate.
"Promotions at the patrol typically come when there is an opening. Those other areas required me to move. If I moved, I wanted to come back to Jeff City," he said.
The fifth offer, however, was for a corporal's position in St. Louis. That, he accepted.
By the time he was 32, he had the rank and supervisory experience. Now, the agency asked him to travel as a narcotics investigator to Troop F, which contains 13 counties, including Cole County. Administrators assigned him to the East Central Drug Task Force.
That organization, operating out of Audrain County, was made up of members of only eight police and sheriff's departments in three counties when he arrived. The rural organizations did what they could but were limited in funding and staffing.
And, at 33, when he had to tell somebody they were laid off because money wasn't available for their position, Griggs began to understand how important funding is.
"I realized I had to be more than a good supervisor - and just take care of people - I needed to learn more about grant funding and grant work," he said.
Griggs buckled down and focused on getting the funding needed for a strong, vibrant task force and the "buy-in" from local agencies.
Today, the East Central Drug Task Force is made up of 22 departments in eight counties. While on the task force, Griggs was promoted to sergeant. And he was later moved to his current position as public information, education and training officer for the Division of Drug and Crime Control - the investigative branch of Highway Patrol.
That change allowed him to return to Jefferson City permanently, but it also gave him the chance to focus on educating the public on narcotics and public safety.
Additionally, it got him close to his old middle school, where he could reach children.
Griggs has been coaching football and Lewis and Clark Middle School for six years and basketball for five years.
"It's that same middle school where that impact was made on me by a trooper," he said. "Because I'm in training and education, I don't work as many night shifts."
The hours let him spend time helping the young athletes.
"Those boys are right at that point where they're going to make a decision about what type of man they're going to be. I'd like to see them become good young men," he said.
In mid-June, the patrol sent Griggs to the annual Uniformed Safety Education Officers Workshop, which was in San Antonio. Law enforcement public information officers gather from all around the country each year for the workshop and hold competitions to determine the best public safety presentation.
Missouri has not placed in the competition since 2015 and had never received a first-place award. (The state has been participating since the early 1970s.) But this year, Griggs received a third-place award for a radio public service announcement and first place for "Best Public Safety Presentation."
As a coach and a sergeant, Griggs continues to affect lives.
"I want to continue to challenge myself to be a better man every day," he said. "But, also to possibly impact lives - whether I'm Coach Griggs or Sgt. Griggs."