Community walks for Type 1 diabetes research
Sophomores Cooper Chambers, Kristopher Carlson, Landon Carrillo, Houston Cruse and Alexander Roca traversing their first lap of the orbit.
November 16, 2022
It was a brisk, cool morning but despite the frigid temperatures, many students, faculty and friends gathered in Barnhart stadium to support an important cause.
The community gathered to raise money and awareness for research on Type 1 diabetes, a genetic condition that affects 1.45 million Americans, according to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the organization that the walk supported.
“It’s an amazing opportunity to support my friends and a good cause that is close to all of us,” sophomore Houston Cruse said. “The research our donations are going towards will hopefully help a lot of my friends and classmates that have been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.”
Students and other community members donated and raised money to help research treatments for Type 1 diabetes and a prospective cure, and then participated in a one-mile walk.
The walk took on the shape of an “orbit.” The orbit started on the track and circled the entirety of Barnhart Stadium, going behind the baseball, field hockey and football fields. Two laps around the stadium route was equivalent to one mile.
“It’s really cool how so many people, not just students but also faculty and families, took time out of their busy schedules to come together and display support for our friends,” sophomore Davis McMayon said.
The event had five captains, four of whom were students. The student captains were sophomores John Klevenhagen, Ethan Jefferson and Jack Paris; freshman Augie Piczak; and sixth-grader James Villa. The faculty captain was Mr. John Friday, Upper School dean and Latin teacher.
“The turnout of people means a lot to me,” Mr. Friday said. “It shows how much Kinkaid cares about its people.”
According to the fundraising dashboard, $16,716 was raised as of Nov. 15, putting the Kinkaid group in seventh place out of about 180 teams.
