The weather for Senior Survival ‘24 did not look promising. Droplets sprinkled from the cloudy sky as the seniors toted their suitcases to the campsites with their counselors. While students split into their assigned groups for rotations, the wind blew and threatened to intensify. As the day unfolded, however, the sky cleared, and continued to stay so the whole week.
Not all senior classes have experienced favorable weather during Senior Survival like 2009, when Mr. Adam McQuistan, now a teacher at CA, was a senior. “It was really rainy, and it was cold,” he recounts. “I do recall…the boys’ camp was up on a little hill – actually a big hill – and it was pretty steep. And it just became…a mudslide going up and down each day up to our camp.” Despite this misadventure, Mr. McQuistan views Senior Survival in a positive light. “I really enjoyed it as a senior myself: hanging out in the woods, getting to do all of the activities, and getting closer to my class.”
Another stormy year is the reason the retreat is now held at Stern Mountain. “We used to go out to Tellico Plains,” explains Mr. Obadiah Groft, teacher at Collegedale Academy and one of the main Senior Survival coordinators. “It was a little bit more rural…but at the same time, it left us kind of open to…bad weather.” When a particularly bad storm flooded the campsite, everybody was forced to evacuate.
Unwilling to send students home without their promised experience, staff were quick to adapt, holding daytime activities and a Friday night service on Southern Adventist University’s campus. That Sabbath, activities were held on Stern Mountain. “After we used it,” continues Mr. Groft, “the owner was so nice and receptive and welcoming, and so we felt like we could…request ‘What if this became our permanent…Senior Survival spot?’”
Regardless of location, preparation is always important – and not just for weather! Senior Samantha Spears took this tip seriously. “My thought process was to get everything from the [packing] list,” she explains. “Food because I’m a picky eater, snacks because my blood sugar drops randomly, warm and cold items [and] clothes, and stuff to keep the bugs away.” She was ready for emergencies if they surfaced throughout the day and night. She also focused on staying hydrated, as the clear skies meant students faced constant sun exposure.
Throughout the week, students were denied phone access in hopes of creating a complete off-grid experience. For Lena Moody, the break from her phone was welcome. “I go through phases where [I’m] on my phone for no reason, and it gets kind of boring,” she admits. Like many students on the trip, Lena noticed that the lack of screen time opened up opportunities for real quality time. “With my [tribe] at night, we got into a lot more conversations with each other because we weren’t distracted,” she shares. Besides, with so many friends on Senior Survival with her, she says, “I wasn’t missing something really big.”
The freedom that comes with the lack of technology shifts the students’ perspectives about their classmates. Students could choose which tribe they’d like to be in, giving them the opportunity to be with their friends. Tribe counselors played a big role in guiding the campers, conversing with them around the campfire, telling them stories, and overall reaching to understand them. Groups, on the other hand, were composed of different tribes, chosen at random. This gave students the opportunity to get to know classmates in a light they wouldn’t have otherwise. Chelsea Young has been going to CA since kindergarten, but, like for many, Senior Survival opened her eyes to who her classmates really were. “I just thought it was really different side of them,” she shares. “Like a more positive side of them, and I never thought that our class would bond like that, that I would bond with them like that.” Every student had an opportunity to have a bonding experience–sharing camping experiences with people you perhaps only see in the school hallway, or conversing with someone whom you never thought you’d have anything in common with.
Aside from new and strengthening friendships, seniors also reported growing closer to God. Every class rotation is designed to point to God and his love for everyone. Evening talks and late-night praise sessions encourage students to worship God and look to Him for guidance, and many tears were shed during activities that had a spiritual focus. “[Senior Survival] serves as a powerful reminder of their need for Jesus in their lives to truly make a meaningful impact,” declares Mr. Tyler Hodges, a religion teacher at CA who went on Senior Survival this year.
Senior Survival has been a tradition for years, and it has not lost its value. From weather, to nature, to bonding with one’s class, warm memories are created. Friendships are strengthened. A love for God is formed. As each class wraps up their senior year and graduates, Senior Survival is hopefully an event not easily forgotten. “You always do wonder…what becomes of those memories later for the students,” Mr. Groft notes. “But I know that that event is so impactful that I’m sure that later on it’ll be kind of like a…lighthouse in the storm.” That’s exactly what Senior Survival means to many students – a lighthouse full of memories of peace, friendship, and as a result, a deeper understanding of God’s plan.
