 Even though Campion Academy has been able to be in-person for most of the academic year, the COVID-19 pandemic has still significantly affected the mental health of many students. Throughout the United States, depression, anxiety, and suicidal thought rates have significantly increased within youth. The Census Bureau's Household Pulse Survey found that 56% of young adults reported feeling symptoms of anxiety or depression and 26% experienced suicidal thoughts at some point during the past year.* Campion students shared how the pandemic has affected their mental health.
It can be hard to maintain a positive attitude and stay connected with others, especially during times of quarantine. "Even though I don't always show it, I like being around people,” explained Ivan Mogaka, junior. “Lockdown made it very hard to get the social aspect of life and when my friends are not near, I become lonely and sad." In times like these, it can be especially hard for people who express themselves through touch or facial expressions by having to wear a mask and social distance. "COVID has negatively affected my mental health because I am a very touchy guy. My love language is touch, so it feels like I can't convey my happiness to others right. I love hugs and the distancing is hard on hugs.” said Jared Marcenaro, junior. “Since the pandemic started, it has been hard for me to stay positive,” an anonymous student reflected. “Before COVID, I had struggled with anxiety already and the pandemic only added to the problem. I have struggled with social anxiety the most since I haven’t been able to interact with others regularly. However, God has been the main frame of happiness in my life and I have learned how much I need to lean on him in difficult times.” Coming from a Christian perspective, it is helpful knowing there is a better future ahead, regardless of what happens here on earth. Kylie Wehling, junior, stated, “One way I have stayed positive and strong throughout this pandemic is maintaining my spiritual life. All the changes in plans and schedules have made me realize that God is the only one who can be a constant in our lives. Our circumstances will change, but He never will. I find my strength in that promise." Haley Enochs, Student News Team If you are a student experiencing mental health issues, don’t be afraid to reach out. The residence hall deans and the chaplain are available to talk confidentially and will help students connect with professional counselors as needed. *Panchal, N., Kamal, R., Cox, C., & Garfield, R. (2021). The Implications of COVID-19 for Mental Health and Substance Use. Kaiser Family Foundation. Retrieved from https://www.kff.org/
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Sunny smiles and slushy snow made for epic spring-skiing conditions for the 18 students on Campion’s annual trip to Copper Mountain.
The students spent three full days of skiing and snowboarding together during the four-day trip based out of Leadville. “With COVID disrupting a big part of the year, it was refreshing to get off campus and enjoy God’s creation,” reflected Kylie Wehling, junior. Coming from Kansas, Jared Marcenaro was one of the students in the group who experienced skiing in Colorado for the first time. “What made the trip great for me was being able to learn and fail around friends,” Marcenaro remarked. “They always helped me back up and told me what I could do better. They also pushed me to do more difficult runs and tricks.” The students were in agreement that the relationships formed from time spent together were the true highlights of the trip. “The people who were there made the trip fun,” said Love Pickle, junior. “On the slopes, we were cheering for each other, which was so ‘sick,’” she explained. “I think the relationships between friends and even people that didn’t hang out before grew so much on the trip,” said Karson Lee, junior. “I had a great time with my friends, but I also had an amazing time hanging out, laughing, and getting to know people who I hadn’t known very well before.” Aside from skiing and snowboarding, the students had the chance to spend Sabbath together in an intimate setting for worship and studying the Bible. After church, they took in the mountain views while tubing down the local sledding hill. Each evening, students caught up with homework and held rowdy ping pong tournaments. The ski trip had been rescheduled due to COVID quarantine restrictions after spring break, but even in April, Copper still had sufficient snow to keep all of the runs open, and the students appreciated the warmer-than-usual temperatures. Pickle commented, “Honestly, the fact that the weather wasn’t freezing cold was the finishing touch.” Jill Harlow, Communication Director Sabbath afternoon, Campion students joined together to share God through reenacting nine scenes from the life of Jesus in celebration of Easter. Around 100 vehicles from the community and church members drove around the campus and watched glimpses of scenes from Jesus’ birth to His resurrection.
Produced by Erin Johnson and Nancy Meszaros, the entire student body was involved in representing different aspects of the life of Christ including: Jesus’ birth, baptism, miracles, Last Supper, Gethsamane, trial before Pilate, His crucifixion, and the Resurrection. Students in Johnson’s drama class composed and directed each scene. “What I enjoyed the most was seeing how hard the students worked to put on this performance,” commented Brianna Bell, one of the student directors. “You could tell that they were definitely doing this for God.” Andy Obregon, who played Jesus in the Crucifixion scene, reflected, “Every time I had to be lifted up on the cross, I thought about the actual pain Jesus went through because of how much He loves us. I have so much more appreciation for Him now more than ever.” Erin Johnson, director of the Resurrection scene remarked, “I saw a lot of smiling faces as they drove away from the campus. We hope that the experience was a reminder that Jesus has risen and that he is coming back. Who wouldn’t be happy knowing that?” Campion News Team with Ryan Bell  On Sunday April 4th, the upperclassmen enjoyed bowling, laser tag, and pizza at The Summit in Windsor for the Junior/Senior Banquet. The students had a chance to get off campus and have fun together: an uncommon opportunity during the pandemic. “The banquet was an absolute blast!” said Edward Camas, junior. “It was a nice stress reliever considering that I was in quarantine for the past week (due to a COVID-19 exposure). Overall the event was amazing and I hope we can do more things like this in the future.” The junior class officers plan the event annually as a gift to the seniors. COVID restrictions made it challenging to come up with safe options for the activity. Regan Garman, junior class president, shared, “Junior/Senior Banquet was fun to plan with my fellow class officers, but one of the biggest challenges was trying to come up with an idea that everyone would enjoy.” The banquet was held in a private party lounge with its own bowling lanes, and the students shared that the evening was a success. Tiffany Dien, senior, commented, “Although I haven’t been good at bowling in the past, it was very memorable because I made three strikes the whole night! I definitely had a fun time during my last banquet.” The night ended with laughs and bonding over homemade desserts on campus. Campion News Team with Andy Obregon, Guest Contributor   I belong to the high school graduating class of 2021. Last year, I watched as people sympathized with the class that came before me, giving their heartfelt support for what the kids had to go through: the infamous global COVID-19 pandemic that struck in the spring. It robbed them of their ability to socialize and the opportunity to learn together in-person. It even took graduation away from them. Everyone expected it to end as quickly as it came, but it didn’t. When school started in the fall of 2020, a new kind of normal had to be defined. My class had to enter into our senior year — which they say should be the most fun and the most cherished — embracing the fact that it was most likely never going to return to the way it was before. But despite it all, I witnessed something remarkable. I witnessed resilience.
Twenty-seven teenagers huddled under a white tent, just big enough to shelter all of them and their supervisors, as the rain pounded on the tarpaulin roof and the cold mountain air left them damp and freezing. It was a sorry sight. The gas stoves in the tent were turned on to serve as a source of warmth and dryness for the shivering teens. Patiently, they waited for the rain to subside. It never did. Senior survival, an annual tradition of my school, was ruined. Amidst the apprehension, the natural playfulness of the boys in my class bubbled over. I sat on a cooler in a trailer attached to the tent and stared in amazement as they grouped into a circle and began singing in Spanish at the top of their lungs. A few of the girls joined along. With a good percentage of the class being Hispanic, the remainder of us watched their impromptu concert from the trailer. My fingers and my toes were freezing, but I smiled. Just a few minutes before, everyone had been quiet and watched the downpour with dread. We knew that our makeshift tents could have been torn down by the wind. We knew that the rest of our activities for the day would be affected by this setback. There was even a rumor that we would have to be pulled down from the mountain. And yet, here was Campion Academy’s class of 2021, singing like there was no tomorrow. When the rain finally stopped and the news came that we indeed had to leave camp, the singing stopped and was replaced by tears and grumbles. We packed up our belongings, piled into a bus and a van, and returned to the campus of our private institution. The next day, everyone was cheerful and willing to make the best of whatever change of plans there were. Gone were the tears and the complaints. We sat on the stage of the school’s chapel, prayed for each other and sang praise songs. When the supervisors apologized for cutting our camping trip short, all that could be heard was, “It’s alright. We can still have fun!” The rest of the school year looked like that. COVID-19 took sports and music away from us. It sent us on unexpected trips back home and had us begrudgingly take classes online for weeks. There were major hiccups in our plans and none of us liked them, but we swallowed the bitter pills and moved on. Despite the grievances brought upon my classmates and I by the Coronavirus, our bond as a class grew stronger, and we did it with faith that God was in control of the situations we faced. This is how I would define resilience. We didn’t initially bear the uncomfortable changes with grace, but we wiped our tears away and got back up. We pressed forward with smiles on our faces and the belief that though things wouldn’t get better right away, we could still make the best of any situation. And as my class of 2021 graduates and enters the big world this summer, I know that we’ll carry this valuable asset of resilience into the unforeseen future. Sharmaine Monreal, Guest Contributor  After much anticipation, Campion has welcomed back its select choir, Koinonia, and Orchestra as part of the music program. While bells and strings were still offered for the first semester, students are eager for the opportunity to join different ensembles.
“When I heard the orchestra was re-launching, I was actually pretty excited for it,” commented Noah Sturges, junior. “Even though we don’t have percussion or as many people, it still gives me nostalgia, especially because we are playing music from previous years.” Koinonia and orchestra auditions were held in February and the classes will be held in-person for the duration of the fourth quarter. In order to maintain social distance in the rehearsal spaces, there are fewer students in each class: only 12 in Koinonia, making it more challenging to get accepted. In addition, Koinonia members wear specially designed masks for singing and in Orchestra, the wind and brass instruments use bell covers. Melissa Clouzet, director of Koinonia, shared, “We are having to modify how we hear and what we do as singers in order to compensate for the masks we now wear, in addition to the spacing that we have to abide by. It will challenge us, but I believe it will be good for us in the long run to help us to both be more independent and build trust between each other.” Music Program Director, Yves Clouzet and Melissa Clouzet and persevered in searching for a safe way to bring back the complete music program. “It is our job to try to offer the best possible music education opportunities for our students,” elaborated Melissa Clouzet, noting that they began researching safety procedures to conduct ensembles during the pandemic last spring. “As time went on, more and more findings about how to sing and play safely became available. I knew at some point the evidence from the research and examples of how other institutions were applying the research would be convincing enough to allow us to get back to singing and playing, which is such a crucial part of our student life and academic curriculum,” she concluded. Haley Enochs, Student News Team  COVID-19 will have left a significant impression for many high school seniors at a point in their lives where decisions are critical. Whether they like it or not, they have to adapt to the changing times of online education platforms, standardized testing, and college applications. The pandemic world has compelled many students to reevaluate their plans for college and careers.
Students like Sharmaine Monreal had already decided on a plan for college before COVID struck. However, things have not been so simple now. She explained, “I planned to go to college overseas but COVID travel restrictions would have made it difficult. So, this opened up a door for me to start looking into American colleges. All my plans have completely changed, but I managed to find a way around them with my parents’ help. I tried to stay positive and prayed a lot. Now I’ll be able to start college in the U.S. this fall.” Several seniors are having difficulty making their final decision on college without getting to visit a variety of campuses. Ryan Bell was looking forward to visiting colleges in person as a way to get a feel for the right school. He said, "I’m still struggling with coming to the realization that traveling and visiting colleges just isn’t going to happen at this point. It’s disappointing not being able to have experiences that I was expecting before COVID began." Some students were depending on acquiring a scholarship through activities, such as sports and music, which have been on hold for the majority of the year. Dominick Maldonado shared, “I really wanted to get a soccer scholarship. As a team, we were proud of each other because we went undefeated last year. If we had had a strong soccer season again, there would have been potential for scouts and scholarships. Then COVID hit, and we never got the opportunity to see whether one of us would have gotten even just a small scholarship. I feel like it brought down the team’s morale and whole mindset.” Despite such challenges, the majority of seniors at Campion are still planning to attend college next year. Colleges are also doing what they can to help students make those decisions by holding virtual events, such as tours and fairs, and sending recruiters to visit our campus. In addition, most universities have waived their requirements for SAT or ACT scores and are accepting students and basing scholarships on grade point averages. Several students in the class, such as Jayce Treat, are planning to go to Union College, which has been fully open in-person this year. “Even though we didn’t have college days for a big group of students, I was still able to visit Union during my spring break and get a tour of the campus. I’m looking forward to taking the next step in the direction of my career.” Tiffany Dien, Campion Student News  Located in front of the administration building, a new bronze cougar sculpture now welcomes visitors to campus.
The sculpture was sold to Campion by George Ferrel, an auctioneer in town and parent of a Campion graduate. Due to the generosity of donors Dick and Ardis Stenbakken, funding was possible between Campion and the donors to obtain this sculpture. In the next couple weeks, the cougar’s name will be finalized. The administration team is looking for a name that represents our campus spirit and inspires campus visitors. As the city of Loveland is well-known for its production of bronze sculptures, it has always been a dream of Principal Don Reeder to have a bronze cougar on campus. He commented, “To have God arrange this special gift when we’ve had many struggles with COVID and finances, told me that God is not done with Campion Academy. It gave me confidence that God is taking care of us in a tough school year.” Tiffany Dien, Campion News Team  Voices filled the air, shoulders rubbed up against each other, friends linked arms and swayed back and forth; Hankin’s Hall was filled with high schoolers praising God. Before 2020 this was a Campion student’s everyday worship experience. Throughout a full year of living with the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been unable to worship together in the same way. How can we help each other connect to God through a mask? How can we show our love for each other from six feet away? Despite all the restrictions, God has still been at work at Campion.
Milka Mendoza, senior at Campion, felt it was especially hard being separated from her friends. “COVID has made it a lot harder to stay close with God. A big thing for me is being able to worship with my friends. Because we have to be home most of the time, that has happened less this year.” Despite the circumstances, Milka has managed to stay positive. “Through this pandemic, I have felt God’s presence closer than ever. Why? Well, because despite everything that has been happening, He has still found a way to bless me and the people that I love. Waking up with good health is one of the biggest blessings.” The pandemic aroused doubt in many people, including Jayden Anggormas, senior. “My spiritual life was affected a lot by this pandemic. There were a lot of problems and doubts because I was worried about how my life was going to turn out.” Jayden realized that he had to let go of his doubts and just trust God. “I started to notice others around me lose their faith because the in-person contact was gone. It was really tough, but I found it to also strengthen my faith. Despite the discouraging setbacks, it reminded me that God is stronger. He can work through situations that are even worse, and by keeping this close to my heart, I was able to become closer with Him.” Teens may find themselves wondering where God is in the midst of the pandemic, but some have been able to use this time to gain a clearer vision of God’s kingdom. “It honestly feels a little difficult to understand why God has "allowed" COVID to happen,” explained Mark Zelaya, senior. “However, if the world was perfect, we wouldn't look forward to heaven. I think that maybe God is allowing this to happen because He wants us to see how messed up and cruel the world is, and the sooner we accept that the sooner we'll want to be reunited with Him.” Jayce Treat, Campion News Team  Campion English teacher, Erin Johnson, was chosen as the winner of the Noosa Full On Grants Contest, receiving $2000 to use creatively in her classroom. She was selected amongst the top 10 nominees as showing the “best example of bold, generous, ‘full-on’ efforts that go above and beyond in teaching” and a creative use of the grant funds.
Johnson was not aware of the contest until she was notified of her nomination. “I hadn’t even seen this competition before,” she commented.”My friend found this contest somewhere and filled out an entry for me. She texted me saying, ‘I’m nominating you for this award!’” Later when asked how she felt about receiving the grant, she said, “It was the most exciting thing that’s happened to me. It made me feel more confident because teaching is a career where we don’t necessarily get a lot of praise. It felt nice to see how my work has paid off.” Erin Johnson is a teacher who incorporates unique and creative ideas into her classroom everyday. “I really like literature to be as hands on as possible, so I try to take things out of the book and make it come alive. I want to make the curriculum applicable to the class, and I’m trying to find an awesome unit I can reuse every year, but it’s really just trying to see what works for the students. The world is always changing, so the classroom should always be changing too,” she elaborated. Johnson mentioned her own high school English teacher was a big inspiration for her teaching methods and how she still draws from some of his ideas. She plans to use the $2000 grant money for interactive projectors for each of the staff to use and for premium versions of online education tools. Sami Hodges, Campion News Team |
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