On November 3, 2022, the campus took a trip to West Frankfort National Guard Armory. The idea for this trip spawned from a conversation with me and, Director of Academics Bradley Becque. Bradley wanted to do something more appreciative of the armed forces than usual; thank you to those staff members that have and are still serving. I offered a trip to the Armory, where I have worked for the past 11 years. He was all for it, so we both worked out the logistics on our separate ends and had a trip.

After completing the equipment tour, we moved into the Army Combat Fitness Challenge. The fitness test is the test we take twice a year to measure our physical fitness levels and meet the standards involved in the military. The actual test comprises six events: the Deadlift, Power Throw, Hand Release Push-Ups, Sprint-Drag-Carry, Leg Tuck, and a 2-mile run. Unfortunately, due to time restraints, we only did the first 5.

Watching students participate alongside staff and try their all in the events was inspiring and uplifting. After the fitness test, it was lunchtime, and everyone had a choice between thier packed lunch and an MRE (Meal Ready to Eat). It turned into a time of excitement and curiosity, and everyone opened thier meals to see what the packaging was like and how to eat the food and asked me personally how I would go about eating the meal they had to choose.

In the end, everyone did so well that the school was invited to come back every year and occasionally throughout the year. Later we did a small reflection, and all students had a positive outlook on the day; some were even inspired by how they did in the fitness test and began conversations about working out more and going to the gym. There were also prize army backpacks for the three students who achieved the highest scores during the fitness test.

For this Campus Forum, students were asked to get in pairs of two during this campus forum. They grouped themselves based on whether they saw themselves as artists or were good at describing details. Once paired, they were given a blank sheet of paper and a simple image. The student who was good at explaining was given the image, and the students who described themselves as artists received the blank paper and a pen. Once the groups had their materials, they sat back to back without seeing the materials the other student had. The described then described the image, and the artist drew a picture based on the descriptions.

It was exciting to see all the wheels turning once they got started. You can hear laughter coming from everywhich way in the cafeteria. 

After the team-building game, we had a small discussion about what had just happened. It was that it was challenging, but some students were able to identify something they could do next time to make the experience easier. We then discussed how the game is based on communication and knowing your friends’ skill sets.