By Jay Hoberecht
Camryn Patterson is a senior at Enid High School. This delightful young woman is having a busy senior year and it sounds like she loves every minute of it.
Camryn attends FCA and is part of the leadership team. She has earned National Honor Society honors. She is part of Student Council, Platinum E (Community Service Club), Coop PE (PE for special needs students) and is in the school’s spring musical, Footloose. In addition, Camryn played Class 6A Fastpitch softball and she is running track this spring for the Pacers.
Camryn is active in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) as the Director of Hospitality. She was Event Coordinator last year. Her interest in FCA was sparked by a friend and met a spiritual need in her life. That need may have been placed in her life by attending Kanakuk for four years. Kanakuk is a Christian athletic camp near Branson, Mo. Camryn attends K7. She will be training this year to become a counselor. Kanakuk hires over 2,000 dedicated, kid-loving, Christian loving college students from across the country that are committed to pouring their life out and showing over 20,000 kids and families what it looks like to follow Christ in a real way. Camryn has used those camp experiences to be an influence on the FCA leadership team.
Camryn has played softball since she was four years old. She spent her summers on travel teams learning the game. She paid attention! EHS head softball coach Chris Jensen called Patterson a difference maker. She played a key role in the program’s four-year turnaround. She could pitch and hit but her biggest contribution was her leadership, positive attitude and work ethic. Patterson ended her high school career with multiple All-District, All-Region and All-Conference honors. Plus, she was part of the Pacers back-to-back Academic All-State awards in 2022 and 2023.
The highlight of her EHS softball career was beating Bixby 1-0 at home, her junior season. She decided to forego slow-pitch softball this spring and runs track, just to stay in shape. She will compete in some of the distance races.
I asked Camryn what advice she might give a ninth grader about high school. She paused for a moment and talked about being kind to everyone and getting out of your comfort zone to try new things. She said, “Like the musical, it has been so fun!”
Camyrn will attend the University of Arkansas in the fall. She has no major decided but knows she will end up working with kids. She has several friends from Kanakuk that attend Arkansas. She will be rooming with her close friend, Cayman Casey.
FCA is celebrating its 70th Anniversary! FCA began in 1954 when a basketball coach from Oklahoma named Don McClanen mortgaged his car and set out on a journey to establish the Fellowship of Christian Athletes! That’s another article!
