REGAN LAVALLEE

On Friday, Aug. 7th, the members of 2015-16 Student Leadership headed up to a family farm in Ilaff, Colorado. This retreat was a reward for the hard work the members of StudLE put in earlier that week and a way for the group to kick off their year by bonding.

Upon arrival, a storm soaked the campground and flooded the tents as StudLE began to set up for their weekend. Once the storm passed, the weekend went on as planned. Little did they know, that storm was an inkling of what was to come.

Saturday night, after spending the morning in the lake and attending the Brett Eldredge concert at the Logan County Fair in the evening, StudLE headed for their tents to get some sleep before their departure the following morning. At 1:10 a.m., the winds abruptly increased. Tarps were stripped from tents while stakes were pulled from the ground. Although the sky was clear with a light drizzle, Student Body President Morgan O’Connor took no chances.

“When I first heard the storm, I thought we could sleep through it, but as it got worse, it was important for me that we were safe and inside, not in tents or laying outside,” O’Connor said. “I told people to leave what they had and get in their cars and go to the house!”

Members of StudLE followed O’Connor’s orders. As they vacated their tents and piled into cars, the rain began to pour. The line of cars vacated the campgrounds to take shelter in Senior Lauren Lamb’s aunt’s house, which was a half-mile up the road.

“My aunt said that everyone could stay at her house no matter what,” Lamb said, “she just acted like we were a part of her family, and helping each other out is what family does.”

StudLE reunited with their Student Leadership sponsor Lindsey Jaffe-Miller at the house, who further assessed the situation. Once all members were accounted for, pillows and blankets were distributed throughout the house to accommodate StudLE for the remainder of the night.

By 2 a.m., StudLE found themselves asleep after the climax of the storm passed.

By 6:30 a.m., the members of StudLE had piled back into their cars to trek back to the campgrounds to retrieve their belongings.

“I was worried about driving back and seeing a completely destroyed pile of tents and other camping items.” freshman Grant Phillips said.

Although the damage was minimal, belongings were found drenched, tents were flooded, and the campground was soaked.

“I was relieved that our stuff did not blow away,” sophomore Kendall Crepeau said, “Our stuff was all soaked but that is better than it being gone.”

Without complaint, StudLE rung out their belongings and, together, packed up. By 8 a.m., the cars departed the farm for the three-hour drive home.

From this retreat, the members of the 2015-16 Student Leadership are prepared to take on any challenges that come their way. They are taking the strength from the whirlwind they experienced back to the school. Get ready, Mountain Vista, the new year is coming in at full force.