by John Stegeman

Dave Campbell has taught religion at Cincinnati’s Archbishop Moeller High School for the past 13 years, and it’s fair to say he loves his job.

“I really enjoy teaching religion,” he said. “I think so many kids have come up through the Catholic schools, and some of them are like, ‘Yeah, I know it all.’ I say, ‘Now wait a minute, you’re still taking math, because you don’t know all the math.’

“It’s wonderful to talk about how we view things differently today than we might have in grade school, and how we understand our faith differently than we did in grade school,” he continued. “I just love teaching religion and having those real conversations with students. To watch how it moves from being a blind faith, something that somebody handed to them and said, ‘You need to believe this, this, and this,’ and it starts to become a personal faith where they’re able to see it alive in their own life and unfolding in their own life. That’s really exciting.”

Campbell teaches juniors and seniors. Juniors take his Social Justice and Christian Lifestyles courses, and he offers seniors a Community Service class. But his work isn’t over when the bell rings. Not only does he coach freshmen basketball, he’s also involved in several school mission trips and retreat experiences designed to help Moeller students truly embrace their Catholic faith.

“For the longest time people thought that if we teach them about religion, young people will want to go out and do good things,” he said. “Young people are experiential. What I have found over my years is that if young people have experiences in which they’re able to see the face of God, in which they’re able to experience God face-to-face, then they want to learn more about religion.”

Moeller’s Catholic identity is tied to its Marianist connection; the school’s first principal, in 1960, was a Marianist brother, and Marianist priests and brothers were part of the early faculty. In 2004 Moeller entered into a sponsorship agreement with the Marianists, solidifying that connection.

For Campbell, the Marian tradition is a long- standing part of his life, including a five-year stay at St. Joseph’s Orphanage as a child while his family dealt with difficulty. Then, his pastor, Father Tom Dennemann, suggested he attend Purcell High School, another school in the Marianist tradition. Already enrolled in the public Walnut Hills High School, he was convinced to switch and graduated from Purcell, after its merger to become Purcell Marian.

After graduating from the University of Dayton, also a Marianist institution, Campbell returned to Purcell Marian, to serve as religion teacher, campus ministry director and eventually assistant principal. He was there for 21 years before coming to Moeller.

“I will forever be indebted to the Marianists,” he said. “Being at Purcell Marian, and then here at Moeller, [it] has been a wonderful blessing to be able to remain with the Marianists throughout my career.”

In high school, the Marianist priests and brothers “saw more in me than I saw in myself. That was really a model for me,” Campbell said. He added that, to Marianists, “Everybody has a place. Everybody has a role to play and a purpose to play. … I see it here at Moeller. It doesn’t matter if you’re an athlete, or an artist or a musician. Everybody has a role and purpose and is valued in the community.”

Moeller Principal Carl Kremer said the community values Campbell as well.

“Dave’s passion for education goes beyond the classroom, and his dedication to Marianist principals is truly remarkable,” Kremer said. “He exemplifies the qualities of an exceptional educator, fostering a love for service, instilling values and creating an environment where students feel empowered to excel.”

This article appeared in the February 2024 edition of The Catholic Telegraph Magazine. For your complimentary subscription, click here