Over the past 25 years, Camas High School (CHS) has gone through many changes.  Some of these changes include growth in size, popularity, and others as it adjusts to the changing times.  Through all of these changes, however, CHS kept its same tight-knit community feeling.  CHS Associate Principal Brian Wilde said, “There is still that community feel to Camas, it is just larger.”

25 years ago, CHS was still in the old building which is now known as Liberty Middle School.  According to Wilde, the graduating class size was very small at around 150 seniors graduating each year.  Due to its small size, CHS athletics were nowhere near the level of prominence that they are currently at.  “Even though we didn’t win very many games, [athletics] were really great experiences and we enjoyed each other, and they were sometimes things that kept us more engaged in school because we had those things to look forward to and that kept us coming to school,” said Wilde, who played both football and tennis at CHS.  

The city of Camas was also in a very transitional period 25 years ago.  There was a huge gap between the city of Camas and the city of Vancouver.  Wilde said, “192nd didn’t even exist.  There was no road on HWY 14.  You went from Camas and the next place you could get off was 164th, so there was a huge gap between Camas and Vancouver.  Now, the lines really blend between Camas and Vancouver, it’s almost like one city into the next.  And so all of that is the context for Camas is so much larger and so much more developed and there are so many interesting things going on in camas that I didn’t witness growing up.”

Through its massive growth, the city of Camas and CHS continued to keep the same community feels.  Camas has always been a small-town feel and a great place to grow up in and make long-lasting relationships with the people in the community. Wilde said, “My mom still lives in the same house that I grew up in, and the neighborhood that I grew up in still feels exactly the same.  The neighbors all know each other, there is a new generation of little kids playing basketball in the streets or riding their bikes up and down.  There is still that community sense to the city of Camas.”

While the community at large stayed the same in Camas, the opportunities that the newer generations have here are way more vast and provide many different avenues for students to explore.  “I think that there are a lot more innovative ideas and opportunities for students today in camas than there were when I was in high school,” Wilde said.  

While high school can be a difficult time for students, it can also provide great opportunities for students who are open to them.  “I think my advice would be to embrace the time and the people that you get to have around you right now.  Be okay with feeling like this isn’t enough or that high school is a constricting experience.  Every generation feels that way.  And because of that, lean into it, but also don’t miss the chance to form really great relationships with the people around you.  Some of whom you may never see again after high school, and some of whom will become lifelong friends,” Wilde said. 

Despite all the differences that are present between students of different generations at CHS, the community of CHS is always growing stronger.  “Once a Papermaker, Always a Papermaker,” said Wilde. “Getting to be the senior administrator this year, I know that this is their motto and I think it is so true.  You’re always tied to the legacy of this HS and you learn and continue to make that legacy a pathway.”