MACHS students encouraged to make a difference
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Caleb Campbell
On Tuesday, February 27, Caleb Campbell visited Mount Ayr high school to encourage students to face their truth, offering students hope and courage during an inspiring school assembly.
By sharing his own struggles in life, Campbell showed students how open and honest conversations about emotional challenges can be life changing, and demonstrated how they can be the solution to so many of these problems.
“From the earliest I can remember, I wanted to play sports,” states Caleb Campbell, “Sports were my thing. Sports were how I felt accepted in the world, how I felt like I belonged.”
“Every single day I was the first person to wake up and be in the gym before school even started, and I was the last one to leave school,” Campbell shared, “That created problems in my life. I never felt more alone.”
Campbell was only 16 when he wrote his first suicide note. Despite struggling with rejection, depression, and thoughts of suicide, he went on to play football at West Point Academy, graduated with many accolades and awards, and was later selected by the Detroit Lions in the 2008 NFL Draft.
After being cut by the Kansas City Chiefs, he faced the reality of trying to live a life of strength on the outside, while falling apart on the inside.
“When we hide behind these masks day in and day out, when we continue to suppress the truth about what’s really going on in our lives, when we live in denial, that’s when we begin to make bad choices,” Campbell noted.
“Teen truth is what happens when students like you begin to recognize that maybe the anxiety that you’re facing, or the depression you are dealing with, or the panic attacks that you’re experiencing on a daily basis, do not define your worth in life,” stated Campbell.
“It is important that our youth realize and understand that it is ‘ok to not be ok’ and that they are not alone,” said Jacqueline (Jackie) Stewart, “Mr. Campbell did a fantastic job connecting with students telling them about his own success and inner struggles that from the outside looking in no one knew.”
Each year, Jackie works to shine light on mental health struggles to help teens overcome them.
“Our hearts will be forever broken, but we will continue to shine Trent’s light in hopes that it will help kids reach out for help,” said Jackie.
Her family provides Trent Stewart memorial funds to bring guest speakers like Caleb Campbell to Mount Ayr high school.
Stewart came across Teen Truth last fall while searching for guest speakers and mental health professionals who can connect with students, and shared the information with Dr. Abby Elliot.
The Support Our Students (SOS) group watched short video clips of different topics that Teen Truth covers, and chose to focus on self-image.
After the assembly, there was a smaller session with the student council, SOS and our Lighthouse team. Students worked in smaller groups identifying problems in our school, and ways to improve our school culture.
“It was empowering for our student leaders to have the extended session, where they identified challenges our students face, and brainstormed ways they could support each other through those challenges,” said Dr. Elliot.
“We are very appreciative of the time and resources Jackie puts into providing our students the opportunities to learn and reflect on topics that help them to be the best versions of themselves they can be,” Dr. Stephens noted.
“When Teen Truth started, it was a creative response to Columbine. We felt like no one was giving kids a voice around the issue,” President and CEO, JC Pohl, LMFT says.
“What we found, was that they had the answers. Because when we speak our truth, when we talk about these hard issues that everyone is always so afraid to talk about, that’s when we drive change,” says Pohl.
Founded in 2006, Teen Truth aims to empower students, build student resilience, and help students take an active role in influencing their school culture.
Teen Truth offered two speaking engagements for the same price, and could have provided both a student assembly and a professional development session for teachers.
Since the assembly was not scheduled for an in-service day, Teen Truth offered to include a second assembly in a neighboring town. Mr. Vanderfught reached out to the Principal at Bedford School District to coordinate the speaker.
“We are so glad that this worked out,” said Jackie, “It has been a goal of ours for awhile to reach outside our community to help others.”
On March 27, a second speaker, with Hilinski’s Hope, will address students and staff thanks to Trent Stewart Memorial funds.
Hilinski’s Hope was created in memory of Tyler Hilinski, to share Tyler’s story, connect students with mental health resources, and generate the funding necessary to support programs that will help end the stigma associated with mental illness.
