GI roams halls of Grayslake school once again
By Beth Kramer ekramer@stmedianetwork.com February 2, 2012 7:44PM
Grayslake, IL 2/1/12 Students at Woodview Grade School welcomed one of their own, US Army Captain Kellan S. Sams while he was visiting his family in Grayslake following his Iraq and Kuwait deployment. Captain Kellan S. Sams, Executive Officer of Alpha Company, 18 Cavalry out of Fort Hood Texas, show the students the patches that he wears on his fatigues. | Rob Dicker~Sun-Times Media
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Updated: April 3, 2012 1:57AM
GRAYSLAKE — Eighteen years after he was a Woodview Grade School student, Army Capt. Kellan Sams was back to do a Q-and-A with second-grade students.
“This is the first time I’ve been back since I left. It’s pretty cool to walk through the hallways again,” Sams said.
He told four second-grade classes the school “used to be a lot bigger.” More than 50 students and his former first-grade teacher Jennifer Miller of Lindenhurst listened as Sams shared with them the two months he spent in Kuwait and five months in Iraq.
He fielded questions about the patches on his uniform (the U.S. flag, captain’s rank, one noting that he was in Iraq), what his grades were like when he was at Woodview (average) and has he ever been scuba diving (no).
Miller recalled Sams as a standout student from first year of teaching. She now teaches third grade.
“I always remember how hard he tried. He always worked really hard and never gave up,” Miller said. “Sometimes you have a student who you know will do great things — I always knew he would always have greatness in his life.”
Sams and his wife Magen live in Nolanville, Texas, just outside Fort Hood. Sams grew up in Grayslake and joined the Army after he graduated from college.
He told the students that he originally wanted to be an astronaut. He is now an infantry officer.
“We’re the guys on the ground with guns. We drive tanks around and find the bad guys,” Sams explained.
His duties were to help get U.S. troops out of Iraq, he said.
When asked what his scariest moment was, he said that Iraq was “actually pretty safe” and that nobody was shooting at them.
“The (Iraqi) people are really nice people. They were excited for us to be there helping them out and keeping them safe,” Sams said.
Second-grade student Kellen Kuzma, 7, said he was “grateful” for Sams’ visit on Wednesday, Feb. 1.
“I love the Army. It has bombs, guns and grenades,” Kuzma said.
His teacher, Laurie Lambie of Grayslake, said her students were “thrilled” that Sams visited.
“What I liked is that he really emphasized school ... and just talking about what they (soldiers) do for our country protecting our freedom,” Lambie said.
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