SENIOR SURVIVAL: A CHANGING TRADITION AT MILE HIGH ACADEMY?

Eeheon Ryu – Highlands Ranch, Colorado … Are you ready to survive? Well, senior students at Mile High Academy (MHA) in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, were as they embarked on “Senior Survival,” August 27-29, a yearly tradition of roaming the outdoors. However, with new challenges and changes to this tradition, this year’s trip might have been the start of a new and transformed Senior Survival.

On the morning of August 27, nearly 30 MHA seniors loaded the bus with their belongings. The unprecedented class size was the reason this year’s Senior Survival was no longer the traditional backpacking trip, explained senior co-sponsor RD Gallant, MHA Upper School Bible teacher and chaplain. With so many seniors—last year’s class was around ten—finding enough of the right gear for everyone was unfeasible, and the trip morphed into a camping experience at Glacier View Ranch (GVR) in Ward, Colorado.

However, these changes to Senior Survival might be here to stay. Rebecca Berg, another senior co-sponsor and MHA Upper School History teacher, noted the overall increase in high school class sizes is the main reason for the change. Her verdict? This year is a turning point in the tradition.

Despite this historic change, the spirit of the longstanding tradition was alive and well. The senior class bonded over fun activities like hiking, surprisingly competitive slacklining, which is competing over dish washing duties and phone charging privileges, and just sitting around the campfire at night together in conversation.

Moxie, Berg’s dog, also accompanied the class and made herself a much-loved camping addition with students petting her, playing catch with her, and enjoying her companionship.

Worship also remained a key component of the three-day trip, with worship happening daily. The night worship on August 28 especially stood out, as Gallant and Ellen, a class spiritual leader, jointly provided the message. The two delivered a captivating message about the legacy of being a senior, to shine their light at school and elsewhere. And, as long as students can come together and be reminded of messages like these, Senior Survival, in any form, will remain a valuable tradition.

—Eeheon Ryu is a senior student at Mile High Academy. Photos supplied.