Allison Berryhill

The Country’s flag proudly flies before Atlantic High School earlier today.

It’s not every day that you see a sheriff surrounded by a group of students in prayer, but on September 25th, that is what some students saw when they walked into the building. Mia Kloewer, a senior, walked into school that day when she was stopped by one of the students in the circle, who asked if she wanted to be prayed for. 

“See You At The Pole is different churches who gather their youth and we go to the flag pole, and we pray together. We bless and pray for the school’s health with everything that is currently going on,” junior Yammlyn Martinez-Ortiz said. Both the Newlife Church and the Gracepoint Church in Atlantic had their youth pastors present, and even the sheriff attended. “The sheriff actually goes to our church, he came here to support and pray with all of us. We prayed for safety and calmness.” Martinez-Ortiz concluded. 

“See You At The Pole is not recently new, it had started in 1990, with a couple of students on a retreat in Texas. This is the 34th Annual See You At The Pole, that happens the 4th Wednesday in September,” the New Life Pastor Dustin commented. “It was started by students, it was led by students, and it is still led by students for anyone, regardless of if they believe in God or not,” he continued. See You At The Pole allows students to show their faith and pray for others instead of just themselves.

Sophore Kayden Newman said, “I am a very faithful person. Jesus saved my life, I was already going down a bad path, however, last year I was saved. And since then it [praying] has helped me with my mental health and mentality. It helped me, and now, See You at the Pole is another test of my faith. It has tested my ability to pray in a small group for others and show empathy.”  

AHS math teacher Lisa Sonntag is one of the people who was touched by this display of religion outside of the school. “It was a pleasant surprise, and it brought tears to my eyes. Just that they [students] had offered to do something like that. I feel like sometimes students don’t realize that they have the possibility to impact their teachers or peers in a positive light.” Sonntag expressed. 

The world can seem scary and unreasonable, but student-led organizations like See You At The Pole continue to spread light and faith across communities nationwide, giving students hope for a better world.