September 23 at 7 a.m. students and staff gathered in the performance gym for the annual See You at the Pole.  See You at the Pole is an event where students, teachers, and other members of the community get together for worship, a message, and prayer. This year marks the 31st anniversary of See You at the Pole after starting in Burleson, Texas, in 1990. After last year being a bit different where students gathered outside and prayed in separate groups due to COVID-19 restrictions, students were glad to get back inside and pray all together again. Many attendees feel there is something about everyone being together and all hearing the same prayer that creates a sense of unity and makes it feel more intimate.

The morning opened with worship led by juniors Kelby Wood, Paige Greenwalt, Jovi Horton and teacher Kim Sowa. Then the event moved on to the message. The theme for this year was “Just Pray” and was executed by sophomore McKayla Reynolds, who spoke about looking up and humbling yourself before God. She has spoken at Apologetix before, but this was a bigger group. When asked if she was nervous she said, “I was nervous but I was also excited because I knew someone might need to hear what I was saying. I love sharing the Gospel so I didn’t let nerves get in my way.”  After her message attendees all circled around the flag and the prayer began. 

Not only were students there but so were other teachers, parents, and pastors of the community. Many of the same people are there every year, but there were some newcomers too. Sophomore Greenlea Vaughan said, “I really enjoyed it, and I’ll definitely come back next year. It was all good, but the donuts might have been my favorite part.” It is such a privilege to have the opportunity to take part in See You at the Pole every year and see the support of the community. Meeting for worship, prayer, and not to forget about the donuts is a highlight of every year and a small comfort of normalcy in the past two chaotic years for many attendees. “Even if it does require being at school an extra hour early, it is worth it nonetheless,” said junior Jovi Horton.