Some people leave North Lyon County and never look back. Others leave, experience the world, and find their way home again.

For Cameron Heiman, home has always been USD 251.

Cameron grew up in the district, attending USD 251 from kindergarten through eighth grade. After spending part of high school at Emporia High School, he realized where he belonged and transferred back to Northern Heights, graduating as a Wildcat in 2020.

Today, he’s back in the district—not just as an alumnus, but as a teacher and coach.

“USD 251 didn't just educate me, it helped build me,” Cameron shared. “Now, one of the greatest privileges of my life is getting to come back and be that person for somebody else.”

That full-circle feeling is something Cameron doesn’t take for granted. He gets to walk through the same schools where he grew up, coach students wearing the same Northern Heights name he once wore, and stand in classrooms with students who are trying to figure out their futures—just like he once did.

For Cameron, that is what makes a small school and a small community so special.

It’s the teachers who know you beyond your grades. The coaches who push you because they believe in you. The families and community members who show up. The Friday nights, packed gyms, friendships, traditions, and generations of Wildcats cheering from the stands.

And it’s the opportunity for one generation to pour into the next.

That’s also why Cameron believes investing in USD 251 matters.

“I support investing in USD 251 because somebody invested in us.”

He sees that investment not simply as an investment in buildings, but in kids—the kindergartener walking through the doors for the first time, the student dreaming about playing under the lights, the senior figuring out what comes next, and the students who haven't even been born yet who may someday call North Lyon County home.

“Those kids deserve our best,” Cameron said.

His biggest hope?

That the next generation is even prouder to be Wildcats than we were.

We love hearing from alumni who have carried their Wildcat pride with them—and even more when they choose to bring that pride home and invest it back into the next generation.

Cameron, thank you for sharing your story and for continuing to pour into the students and community that helped raise you.

One generation believes in the next. That’s how a community continues. That’s how Wildcat pride gets passed down.