When he began attending Rutgers University in the fall of 2011, Will Campbell, a Mt. Laurel native and graduate of Lenape High School, was hoping to pursue a bachelor’s degree in biology.
At the time, he never would’ve imagined he’d be giving a speech at the commencement for the school of management and labor relations.
However, more than four years later in May, Campbell graduated from Rutgers with a master’s degree in labor and employment relations just two years after switching from a biology to a labor studies major.
Campbell was one of a few students chosen to give a speech at the graduation ceremony. Some of Campbell’s peers may have known him as a passionate student preparing to go to law school. Others may have known him from his community outreach initiative and philanthropic pursuits for the Omicron Alpha Chapter of the Kappa Delta Rho fraternity.
However, it wasn’t until graduation when many learned about Campbell’s journey into labor studies and how one of his former teachers from Lenape High School played a big role in a life-changing decision.
Searching for his true passion
In the spring of 2013, Campbell was in his second year at Rutgers and was taking an organic chemistry course for his biology major. Campbell struggled through the organic chemistry course and found himself unsure of whether science was really for him.
“I was kind of in a crossroad considering whether I wanted to continue pursuing science and med school,” he said.
Campbell said many people encouraged him to continue in science, saying it was a good career path. But Campbell wasn’t happy in the science course. He was happier instead in his labor studies course. Campbell had declared a minor in labor studies at the time and found the classes enjoyable.
Unsure of what to do, Campbell decided he wanted to reach out to a former high school teacher, saying the teachers at Lenape High School were a big inspiration to him.
He decided to write an email to Andre Lopez, an English teacher and coach for the boys’ swim and golf teams at Lenape. Campbell was in Lopez’s class during his sophomore year and recalled Lopez had once gone to college at Rutgers for science as well. After changing his major numerous times, Lopez found his true calling of English, writing and teaching.
“I thought it’d be good to reach out to him and have a conversation,” Campbell said.
Campbell sent the email to Lopez in May 2013. Lopez was able to immediately connect with what Campbell was feeling.
“This was the exact same dilemma I had as a sophomore in college,” Lopez said. “I graduated valedictorian from Maple Shade High School and was forced into biotechnology major, because I thought that was my dream and what others expected of me. And I too reevaluated my life when approaching organic chemistry.”
Lopez sent Campbell an email back, telling him his story and how he departed from biotechnology to pursue a career in English, eventually becoming an English teacher at Lenape.
“I wanted him to feel the same rewards of following your passions and dreams that I feel everyday as a teacher and coach here at Lenape,” Lopez said.
After received the reply, Campbell decided to follow his former teacher’s advice and make the change. Campbell credits the email exchange as the big reason why he finally made the switch.
“It gave me the confidence to make that decision,” he said.
Campbell switched his major to labor studies and immediately found his calling.
Thanks to large number of college credits carrying over from high school, Campbell graduated in three years with a bachelor’s degree in labor studies. The next year, he was ready to graduate again, this time with his master’s degree.
“It is our responsibility, our duty, to lift up not just ourselves, but those around us.”
Campbell said his advisor told him shortly before graduation he was one of the students chosen to make a speech at the school of management and labor relations’ graduation ceremony on May 16.
When he sat down to write the speech, Campbell wanted to honor Lopez, but also wanted to leave his fellow graduates with some words to live by.
“When I first sat down to write it, it was a process,” Campbell said. “I really didn’t know how I wanted to approach it.”
“From early on, I was definitely thinking about that email he sent me two years ago,” he continued. “It was an important part of my intellectual growth.”
Campbell’s speech was a two-fold message for his peers. First, he asked the other graduates to think of the people like Lopez in their own lives — the people who helped them get to where they were on graduation day.
“A lot of people just think they did it themselves,” Campbell said. “We have teachers, we have parents, we have friends who support us along the way.”
Secondly, Campbell encouraged his peers to make an impact on others just as Lopez has impacted him.
“Now that we have finished one of the most important steps in our journeys, it is up to us to become the next generation of mentors and advocates,” Campbell said in his speech. “Our achievement has become part of the success of those who picked us up when we were down. We can only measure ourselves to the same standard. It is our responsibility, our duty, to lift up not just ourselves, but those around us.”
Lopez and Campbell hadn’t been in contact since their email exchange in 2013. After completing his speech, Campbell decided to reach out to Lopez again.
“After I finished the speech, I wanted to let him know he was an important part to where I am,” Campbell said.
“Will replied to the email I sent him two years ago with a brief email telling me how much my email meant to him and how he had followed his dream, was now graduating and giving a speech that he wanted my thoughts on,” Lopez said. “I was shocked that he had kept that email for two years.”
When Lopez read the speech and discovered how big of a role he played in Campbell’s college career, he was touched.
“I was at a loss for words,” Lopez said. “I was blown away that he referenced me and how I inspired him in his speech and that he urged his fellow graduates to find their inspiration and follow their dreams.”
Lopez told Campbell after reading the speech, the impact he has made has validated his choice to teach.
“I may have helped him find his way, but I will be forever grateful to Will for reminding me that what we do as teachers and coaches really does make a difference,” Lopez said.
Moving forward, making an impact
Campbell’s college journey is far from over. He is planning to attend law school at Rutgers-Newark in the fall. He hopes to one day have a law career protecting unions and their employees. He already has some law experience, having worked as a legal administrator at Vella, Singer and Martinez law firm in Metuchen.
“I am very interested in labor law and employment law,” he said. “This is something that does call to me, and it’s absolutely something I want to do.”
Campbell said he will always look to reach out to others as he moves forward into law school and eventually a career. He wants to make an impact on others the same way Lopez made an impact on him.
Meanwhile, Lopez is continuing to enjoy his job teaching at Lenape and now realizes the impact he has made. He said Campbell’s story is proof of the difference teachers can make on their students, even after they move on to college and their career.
“Teaching is not about the paycheck or summers off,” Lopez said. “It is about making a difference. Will made me realize that by following my dreams, I made a difference in his life and maybe others before him.”
