Mr. Trundle is back on campus

After undergoing chemo for three months and having one operation, H House advisor, Al Trundle, was officially declared cancer free. His first major CT scan took place on October ninth and have been occuring every three months since then. Although he returned to school on Feb. 14 of last school year, this will be his first full year back since being out on leave.  While he admits it has been tough trying to return to normalcy after the heavy toll that chemo took on his body, he is beyond excited to be back with his fellow staff and students.  “[The thing I missed the most about Samo was] the kids. Absolutely the kids. Their energy is what keeps me going,” Trundle said.  For Trundle, one of the toughest parts of being on leave was that he missed out on meeting and advising his incoming class of freshmen. However, he looks forward to getting to know his now sophomores while advising them throughout the school year.  While sophomores are still getting to know Trundle, seniors, including Jonas Berlin (’20), are excited to get their advisor back.  “Mr. Trundle always takes the extra time to really look out for his students and he knows us on a more personal level so it’s great having him back,” Berlin said. Along with creating relationships with his students, Trundle is also focused on adjusting to life back at Samo, particularly to all of the changes that have taken place since 2018. This includes changes to the school itself, such as flextime and construction, as well as changes to the Samo community, like the absences of old staff members. Although his experience with cancer brought on many hardships, it taught him many things as well, including how important a person’s health is.  “You can’t put a price tag on your health. You can have all the money in the world but it doesn’t matter if you are not healthy,” Trundle said. Trundle’s homecoming is bound to bring more valuable advice, good laughs and comforting words. The open arms of the Samo community has made his transition back to Samo much easier on him and will hopefully continue to do so.