Over the first weekend back on campus, Campion Academy participated in our annual Class Scramble. Although it was similar to years past, students and staff took extra precautions relating to COVID-19. Student Association (SA) officers took on the challenge of creating new games and rules to ensure that everyone had fun safely. 

For the second year in a row, the senior class of 2021 kept up their winning streak and came out on top. Milka Mendoza, senior, stated, “I was super glad we were even able to still do it, and thankful for the SA officers and the staff who set everything up. It felt so good to win for a second time in a row! I’m super excited to see how our class can continue to make memories despite everything else going on. We did get a little scared of losing, but we pulled it off! It all worked out because we came together as a class.” The other classes didn’t make it easy for the seniors to win; it was a tight race between the seniors and the sophomores, who came in second.

The event was held outside, everyone wore masks, and the new games allowed for social distancing. Some students embraced safety by decorating their masks and finding creative ways to take pictures. Kylie Wehling, SA Spiritual Vice President, said, “Being on SA this year, we had the challenge of thinking of new ways to stay safe with social distancing while still being able to have fun with our classes. Even though a lot of the normal Class Scramble games had to change, such as man-overboard and men-in-a-boat, I think everyone was still able to have tons of fun and enjoy bonding time with their classes.”

In years prior, Class Scramble has been followed up on Sunday with SA Picnic: a series of class competitions put on by the SA officers. This year, unfortunately, the low air quality from local mountain fires put that on hold. Campion is still planning on having this event on a day where there is less smoke and we can ensure the safety of everyone on our campus.

-Haley Enochs

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Campion may have uncovered a new tradition worth continuing by allowing the senior class one last chance to make a lasting impact on fellow students. During the week of May 4th-8th, Campion hosted its last Week of Prayer for the academic year. This particular Week of Prayer was unlike any other, not only because it was held virtually through private zoom calls and was live streamed on Facebook, but because it was hosted entirely by the senior class. Chaplain Mrs. Eickmann and Technology Director Mr. Eickmann also worked very hard behind the scenes to make transitions between activities, speakers, and prayers seamless. Though current circumstances should have held the school back from gathering to learn about God’s Word, the message was clearly broadcast: focus on Jesus.

Mrs. Eickmann challenged the seniors to host all of the meetings from beginning to end. Responsibilities were distributed during senior Bible classes. Whether tasked with creating questions for Kahoot (an online quiz game) which brought many laughs to participants, sharing a favorite memory from years at Campion, or delivering a personal message reflecting Christ’s character, each and every senior had a part in ministering. Sydney Halvorson, a sophomore at Campion says, “Having the seniors host Week of Prayer was really cool. It gave us some insight into what their personalities are like, and it was nice to hear some of their favorite memories at Campion.”

Junior, Ireland Anthony, agreed that hearing from seniors was unique and a blessing. “I really loved the fact that it was all about the seniors this Week of Prayer because it’s their last one at Campion!” She continued to say, “something that stood out to me was that I have never heard some of the quiet seniors speak before, and they did a really good job.”

Mrs. Eickmann expressed, “I was super pleased with how Week of Prayer went. I was blessed every single day by those who presented. The seniors made me proud of how they stepped up, were real, and shared from their hearts. They inspired me! I loved having the seniors host it.”

Having seniors present the last Week of Prayer for the school year may become a new tradition at Campion Academy. The delivery of testimonies and memories allowed students to turn their eyes away from the worries, cancellations, and uncertainties this year has brought them and simply focus on Jesus.

Delanie Kamarad, guest contributor

Chris Johnson, a recent graduate of Campion Academy, found himself working in a place he’d never expected—a nursing home. Granted, the Green House Homes at Mirasol, in Loveland, Colorado, aren’t your typical nursing home, but Chris had no experience and wasn’t even sure what the job entailed when he agreed to give ASSIST a try.
 
ASSIST is a grant-funded program managed by Southern Adventist University that pairs students with senior citizens to build relationships and offer assistance. Campion has participated in the program since 2008.
 
Chris spent two hours a day, five days a week with the residents, talking with them, going for walks, watching TV, or reading to them from the newspaper. “It became a natural friendship over time; it wasn’t like I was working,” he adds. “Some of the elders were really sad to see me go. One of them said, ‘You’re like a grandson to me.’”
 
“My last job [at Campion] wasn’t working out, and this was the last job available for me,” says Chris. “If you came to me before I had the nursing home job, I would tell you I didn’t want it. But once I got there, it was way more enjoyable than I thought.”
 
During the 2015-2016 school year, Campion was one of 151 schools qualifying to receive the ASSIST grant. “Over 1,900 families committed to Seventh-day Adventist Christian education will be impacted by as much as $2.4 million in tuition assistance… And, through a practiced attitude of service on the part of the students, as many as 2,700 senior citizens are served currently through this grant,” Southern’s website reports.
 
Working for ASSIST has provided an average of 10-11 Campion students with meaningful jobs each year, and in turn, the ASSIST grant provides 80% of student wages. Campion fundraises the remaining amount.
 
Student Labor Coordinator Toni Odenthal explains that student jobs like ASSIST “allow Campion students to work off part of their school bill and also teach them the skills needed to be good workers and thrive in the workplace.”
 
“I grew socially by doing this,” Chris adds. “I kept a relationship with a house full of people, which is something I don’t usually do. I’m usually not a talker, but over there I learned to enjoy it. If I ever do any volunteering, I’d look to help with elderly again.”
 
Jenny Sigler teaches English at Campion Academy

 “If I was ever being lazy my dad and brother would get after me until I did my job correctly the first time,” says Kyle Rushold, recent graduate of Campion Academy and the school’s first student to get his own parking spot.
 
The work ethic instilled by his family paid off when he started working for the maintenance department at Campion after his sophomore year. When Kyle started his senior year, Plant Services Director Glenn O’Halloran hired Kyle to be the student assistant for Plant Services, a position that requires him to supervise up to six students on the morning work crew.
 
“When you work, you are rewarded by success—usually with money,” explains Glenn O’Halloran. Kyle did get paid a slightly higher wage, but the parking spot was part perk, part necessity since Kyle’s position would often make him late for class or chapel.
 
Kyle claims he doesn’t know why he got his own parking spot, remaining humble about his responsibility. “I guess Mr. O’Halloran and Principal Reeder had the confidence in me for this position, which doesn't really qualify me but gave me the confidence I needed for it.”
 
Paired with strong academics and spiritual emphasis is Campion Academy’s student employment program.
A long-time tradition of boarding academies, student employment fits in with Ellen White’s counsel to teach students a work ethic and practical knowledge along with theoretical. About 95% of Campion students work for the school or off-campus at Voice of Prophecy, HMS elementary school, a greenhouse, vet clinic, assisted living nursing home, paleo snack kitchen, or as literature evangelists, to name a few.
 
O’Halloran hopes his student workers graduate with the skills necessary to walk on to their college campus and get a job with plant services. At least three students in the last two years have gotten such jobs at Union College. “They’re not only becoming great students at Campion Academy, but great workers, too,” says O’Halloran.
 
“I am learning so much while working at Campion,” says Kyle, “from learning how to use new equipment to even learning how to drive a bus. The most important, though, is how to deal correctly with everyday problems and people. It is also teaching me a lot more of how the real world works.”

Jenny Sigler teaches English at Campion Academy