Dakota Adventist Academy

Attending Dakota Adventist Academy has not been an easy journey for Derek Keller.  Moving between the Academy and a public school in Ft. Pierre, South Dakota, Derek has struggled with direction and motivation in his school and in his life.  Starting late his freshman year, Derek's focus was a frequent back and forth for the first three years.  Now he is only a couple of days away from graduation at DAA.  While the road to graduation has been a long one, the ending is a happy one.  Against his wishes, Derek's parents sent him back to DAA for his sophomore year.  However, the year took an unexpected turn when Derek was deeply impacted by the fall week of prayer speaker, Pastor Alden Ho from Canada.  Ignited by the call for students to rid their lives of worldly distractions, Derek responded to an altar call from Pastor Ho to be baptized. However, Derek didn't follow through.  "I was committed in that moment to changing my life, but the fire slowly started to die."   Derek's commitment to school and to God ended during spring break when Derek decided not to return to DAA to finish the school year. 
 
Confronted from every direction with friends at home making poor decisions, Derek fell into a destructive lifestyle.  However, his friends at DAA didn't stop working with him.  After a long talk with a senior during a weekend visit in January 2009, Derek called his father with a surprise.  He was staying at DAA!  Derek felt God saying it was time to come back to school, and while his reasons for staying were not altogether spiritual, Derek knows now that God was pushing for the right reasons.  "I became closer to God during my junior year," Derek admits.

Although Derek grew stronger during his time at DAA, his real challenge came when it was time to head home for the summer.  He knew he needed to stand up to his friends, staying away from the temptations that had dragged him down before.  "I didn't hang out with anyone during the summer."  Eventually, his friends turned a corner, making plans in which he could be comfortably involved.  He was ready to start his senior year at DAA, surrounded by peers and staff who helped Derek find his way back to God.

The true time of change came when he stood in front of his church and gave his testimony.  A family friend pointed out that because his life had changed, the next step was baptism.  Speaking with DAA chaplain, Rob Griffin, Derek knew the time was right to make this commitment.  Starting classes with a classmate Amanda Tastad, Derek has spent the past couple of months preparing to express his eternal commitment.  On May 8, DAA's Homeshow Weekend, Derek was baptized!

On this Sunday, May 30, Derek will march alongside the other 11 members of his class.  He is planning to attend Andrews University this fall.    Derek is thankful for the experiences DAA brought his way and the friends he made during his time here. 

He knows now that there is no time for indecision.  "You need to make a decision, one way or another. Strive for God because once Satan sees that he is going to lose you, he will attack with such force and prey on your fears.  Stay close to God."  His testimony and decision for God encouraged four other DAA students to make that stand as well.  Connor McCain, Brennan Altsman, Chris Tastad, and Danny Koh will join Amanda in demonstrating the commitment of their lives to God through baptism on the Sabbath of graduation weekend!