Whiz Kid: Christian Campbell

When Christian Campbell was called to his principal’s office at recently, he was uncertain what he had done to deserve the visit.

Once he saw , he was even more stunned.

“I felt nervous because I wasn’t really sure what I did,” he said. “My heart was just beating.”

Apparently, Holland was out jogging earlier that day and saw Campbell do a “California stop” at the corner of 43rd Avenue and Oglethorpe Street. The Chief offered Campbell a choice: take a traffic ticket or participate in an anti-stop-sign-running initiative.

Campbell chose option two.

With Sgt. Chris Purvis and Officer Jim Denault and some other student volunteers, Campbell held signs up warning drivers to stop where Campbell did not.

“Everyone just kind of smiled and gave us the thumbs up,” Campbell said of the experience. “One person even put their car in ‘park’ and then drove through the [intersection].”

Campbell, 18, is a senior at DeMatha. He drives a lime green Jeep to and from his home in Lanham and has never had a traffic citation.

“I’ve seen a lot of students blowing through the signs and just speeding all over the city,” he said. “Some of the parents are worse.”

Buses pick up students at the back of DeMatha. There is parking for seniors back there and parking for juniors in the front of the building, closest to Baltimore Avenue.

Editor's Note: A special thank you to Purvis for nominating Campbell as this week's Whiz Kid.