Making my way through the crowd at the CAHS homecoming football game, my eyes fixated on a large pool of blue hoodies visible on the far right side of the field. This deviation from the onlookers abundantly clad in red and black displayed the unification in Coastal Academy’s Advanced Student Body (ASB). Samantha Bartrom, the director of ASB, along with a couple other chaperones, brought over 30 student leaders to the annual homecoming football game.

“I brought my students to the game so they could see what lies ahead of them when they get to high school,” Bartrom said. “I also wanted a fun evening activity that allows the kids to have fun together socially, in a safe environment.” She wanted the kids to connect with other ASB kids from other sites, and leave feeling more excited for their years to come at CAHS. Bartrom has one-of-a-kind connections with her students, and she wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.

Our sister middle school, Coastal Academy in Oceanside, arranged that the students be transported to and from the game by school bus. At the game, the students were either fervently following the course of the players, or just hanging out with their friends.

As eighth grader Jack Andolina, the former vice president of ASB, said, “I saw some friends that shared some classes with me last year. It was fun re-connecting with them.” Although our Caimans lost 23-20, those numbers made no difference in how enjoyable the overall night was for our guests. “The robotics team made a robot that launched foam footballs into the crowd. My friend [Caleb] and I each caught one,” he reminisced. “It was cool.”

Samantha Bartrom has fostered the individual development of each student, for most of them since 6th grade. In light of this group of students leaving this year, Mrs. Bartrom opens up about what she wishes her friends to carry with them throughout their entire life: “The values I try to teach my students above all is integrity. What you say matters. More importantly, do your actions align with your words? Great leaders lead from a place of integrity and humbleness. We lead from the heart and recognize in order to [lead] others, we must first lead ourselves. Leadership starts from within.”

These games are not only ways to keep high school guys from beating each other up—they also act as social outlets for a wide array of ages and backgrounds. I’m sure Mrs. Bartrom will be cultivating many more generations of brilliant innovators, trailblazers and pioneers for CAHS and beyond.