Aaron Kampman Speaks at Belle Plaine

Just prior to Christmas Break students at Belle Plaine took break from classes and had the opportunity to welcome Aaron Kampman to Belle Plaine.  Kampman who is originally from Kesley Iowa, played football in high school for Ed Thomas at Aplington-Parkersburgplayed and then for Hayden Fry and Kirk Ferentz at Iowa before moving on to the NFL for a 10 year career mostly with the Green Bay Packers.  Since retiring from the NFL, Kampman has begun speaking with various groups, schools, and businesses about goals and dreams.

Kampman's message centered around the idea of an oak tree and how ones dreams and goals in life are much like the growth of a mighty oak with its beginnings as a tiny acorn.  Everyones goals and dreams start out as an acorn and the growth of those goals are dependent on a number of key things that will help them grow.  One of the keys to the growth of our dreams and the acorn is the things around us or for the acorn the soil.  Are the things around us restricting our growth or nurturing our progress?  The things that can hold us back are like weeds that can destroy our dreams.  Aaron identified a couple of those weeds that our students at Belle Plaine deal with specifically included alcohol, drugs, and the negative effects of technology and social media.

Another key to achieving our goals and dreams is the support we have all around us.  In the case of the oak tree, the sunshine that is necessary for it's growth.  Mr. Kampman identified three key areas that we all can look to for support.  The first area he spoke about was friends.  He shared that friends can also hold us back from our goals and dreams if they are exposing us to things that will be detrimental to being successful.  Aligning ourselves with friends who challenge us and bring out the best in us are key.  Friends can also be a big support if one of the other two areas is not very helpful.  A second area of support is teachers and coaches.  These individuals have the knowledge and skills to help students reach their goals and are people that students can go to with almost any need.  Aaron shared that he had several teachers and coaches who helped get him started towards achieving his dreams.  The final important area of support is ones family.  Whether it's parents or siblings, family can be one of the most important elements to attaining dreams and goals.  For some however, family support may not always be there or best the best role model and that is when the other two support groups become even more important.

Aaron's message was presented in a way that all students could understand and apply to themselves in some way.  He shared personal successes he experienced as well as challenges he faced and how he was able to move forward at all times.

The response from students and staff was very positive and it was great having Aaron come to Belle Plaine.  He remainded for nearly 30 minutes after to sign autographs and speak with students.