Chris Kamp, 4/30/2019

Science has always been a passion of mine, as a child I was fascinated by the world (mostly the wildlife) around me. My grandmother would buy me field guides for local wildlife, and being a Floridian, this gave me tremendous opportunity for discovery. I would devote much of my time looking for organism (in particular the “creeping things” like bugs and reptiles) that I was reading about in the field guides. I would begin the process by reading about an organism, learning about its habitat needs, and looking for the nearest place that met its (the organisms) needs. Sometimes this process would take hours, other times, it would take days, weeks, or even months. By the time I was attending middle school I was quite the little naturalist all ready. This was also a time that my faith in God was being laid and strengthen, I would often pray while on my escapades (often for His help finding the critters that I had been tirelessly searching for) and many times I found answers to prayer while searching for answers about the world around me.

Weightlifting and Gunfire

High school would see a drop in my nature endeavors as I would embark on athletic endeavors. I began competing in weightlifting and began researching strength and conditioning science. This new love affair would take me through my high school years and over a decade spent in the sport of Olympic weightlifting. I won state championships multiple times and placed top ten at a few national competitions. I also have coached the sport. The real joy was researching and writing programs that developed athletes (or myself) to become more confident, strong, flexible, fast, and goal oriented. My last competition was May 2018. I have, during this time between high school (freshman year 2006) to also serve as a United States Marine and served a combat tour in Afghanistan in 2012-2013. This span of time marked a low point in my Christian faith and endeavors in nature.

Seek and You Will Find

In 2014 I returned from Afghanistan and found myself searching for answers I once already knew. My faith was rekindled, and then exploded. I rejoined the local church of my childhood, Citrus Heights Church of the Nazarene, out of obedience to God. I wanted to attend a different church, but felt strongly through prayer that God called me back to my first church. There in 2015 I meant my wife-to-be, Jennifer Hope Lane (now Kamp). I married my wife on August 18, 2017 and finished my associates degree soon after. It’s hard to imagine life better than that, but it perpetually abounds in joy, and grows as the days go by. In 2015, pouring out of obedience and the joy of serving God, I began my career in education, working at the small private school attached to my church, as a part time teacher under the condition that I was degree seeking (I originally taught electives).

Knock and the Door Will be Opened to You

In 2018 I was offered a position of full time Science teacher at Citrus Heights Academy under the condition that I would be finishing a bachelor’s degree in a related field in 2 years or less. That brings us to today. I am finishing up my first-year teaching grade school science and working on earning a bachelor’s degree in environmental science. I have found that following Jesus, has resulted in some ways to me getting back to the joys of my childhood, of discovering the world around me through an intentional, observable, and testable process. The more I learn about science, the more I can’t help but erupt into worship of God.