At Seven

As her birthday party approached, her father remarked how she had so many things in her life it might be a good idea to have her friends bring gifts she could in turn donate to children through a local agency.  Her reply at the age of seven; “Don’t you think we should wait until I am more mature?”  In those words. Exactly.

So they waited.  Then, as her next birthday approached the suggestion was made again.  That time, she was ready.  She gave the many gifts and donations from her friends to other children and also helped the agency with their annual Christmas toy campaign.  They continued this tradition for several years.  In the end many thousands of dollars in cash and goods were donated.
   

"I do it!"

From very early childhood, she was an “I do it” sort of person.

A button pusher; any gadget… any time.

An activity; skiing, blading, biking… any time.

She would just dive in fearlessly, marking her enthusiasm for life.

Most often, she would realize the outcome she desired.

When she decided she wanted to visit her grandparents in South Dakota. She didn’t want her mother or father to accompany her. 
She wanted to “do it” herself. 


Her parents were always in awe of the little person with such amazing skills and confidence. So they finally agreed, thinking she was more than capable of handling such an adventure. The day came and they put her on the plane to South Dakota with a change in Denver. She arrived safely and full of self reliance as her proud grandparents picked her up.


Within a day or so, regret set in and she was homesick but she conquered it, assisted by her mother’s soothing words over the phone. 

This was Samantha Marie Campbell at seven... humanitarian and adventurer.

This is how she will be as a UCLA graduate.