The senior communications class scattered across the acres of camping ground, each student eager to win the photography scavenger hunt.

“They were excited and so competitive because they wanted to take better pictures than the others,” Morton said. “Everything was great, they were great out there, they’re just amazing.”

This camping trip is a tradition Morton holds with selective senior classes.

“I love to camp and be outdoors,” Morton said. “This trip is special for groups that are special to me.”

The trip was meant to serve as a break from the usual classroom routine.

“I wanted them to get away from the normal things we do together,” Morton said. “This is one of those ways we can get away and have fun and play.”

During the trip, the seniors had to complete a series of challenges, fueling some competition along the way.

“We got really competitive so there were some intense moments, but it was super fun,” said senior Clay Keener. “I feel like I bonded a lot with the communications students and it just felt like such a once in a lifetime opportunity,”

Throughout the trip, the students worked on challenges and activities together.

“We bonded a lot through this,” Keener said. “ I feel like our projects for the rest of the year will be even better because of it.”

Just like he had always done, Morton made sure to stay out of their way during the camping trip to let them learn and grow through the activities he had planned out.

“I am just here to help, my job is to get them the resources and keep giving them stuff to learn,” Morton said. “I don’t want to get in their way, I just give them the resources and let them go.”

Being a part of the communications magnet all four years, Keener said that he has grown in many different ways.

“I have definitely grown my skills as a filmmaker and also as a team player,” Keener said. “I feel like I’ve learned a lot of teamwork and skills and gotten to really expand my ways of expressing art.”

With the many projects the magnet create, Morton says he has high expectations for his students.

“I expect a lot and I hate to say the cliché, but it is true,” Morton said. “They have all grown up in different ways, seeing the quiet or timid freshmen taking over leadership roles, you don’t realize how much they would blossom from it and it makes me excited about what they will achieve in the future.”

As the seniors plan their future, Keener said that his experience in the communications magnet helped him choose his career path.

“It solidified my desire to become a filmmaker,” Keener said. “I wasn’t completely sure before but I just knew I wanted to become one because I just had so much fun.”

Seeing the seniors choose their career path one by one, Morton said he is proud of his students’ growth.

“This is one of the best groups we have ever had as far as bonding,” Morton said. “They have absolutely grown up and continue to be better and better.”

As the school year draws to a close, Morton is reluctant to think about his students leaving.

“I don’t want to think about them leaving yet, because it makes us all sad,” Morton said. “When we talk about it, they start watering up but I am also happy for them to go on because that’s what my job is meant for.”