WHS students discover power of serving others in earning Dempsey Challenge award

By Lorraine Glowczak

Giving back to the community and fundraising for a good cause is a way to make a meaningful difference in the lives of others and become part of something bigger than ourselves.

Windham High School students participated in the Annual
Dempsey Challenge in Lewiston and discovered what it
means to give back to your community. Some of the WHS
students in this year's Dempsey Challenge are, from left,
Morgan Clark, Brooklyn Roy, Anna Bowie, Nate Plati,
Miles Morrison, Sean LeBel, and Patrick Dempsey, the 
actor and founder of the Dempsey Center.
SUBMITTED PHOTO 

For 15 Windham High School (WHS) students, the opportunity to make a positive impact became much more than a day of volunteering – it became a powerful experience that gave them a deeper understanding of themselves and what it truly means to be part of a community.

On Saturday, Sept. 19, the 15 students participated in the 18th Annual Dempsey Challenge in Lewiston. The challenge is a run, walk and bike fundraiser where the students saw firsthand the impact cancer can have on individuals and their families, and discovered how even a small act of service can make a significant difference in someone’s life.

Their commitment to giving back also earned them the award for the high school team with the most participants, an honor they captured for the second consecutive year.

WHS Junior Nate Plati, the organizer of the WHS team, said he is dedicated to helping others.

“I am a big advocate for giving back and being of service. Not only that, I learn a lot in the process,” Plati said. “With this experience, I learned what it really means to empathize with others. Hearing the stories of cancer survivors and families who have been affected by a loved one’s cancer made me realize how much people can go through and how important it is to be there for them.”

As Plati mentioned, part of the day included listening to stories from those who are experiencing or have experienced cancer and/or from family members whose loved one had cancer and were able to share their own stories.

For the students, this was one of the most impactful moments of participating in the Dempsey Challenge.

Morgan Clark, also a junior, said that her participation was an eye-opening experience.

“Seeing how many people that cancer touches was very heart-wrenching,” she said. “I saw one of my seventh-grade teachers there and I didn’t know that she had cancer. It was moving to connect with people I didn’t know and wouldn’t normally talk to. It was honestly beautiful to see everyone rally around each other and support one another.”

Junior Sean LeBel agreed with both Plati and Clark about the day’s activities and said the experience helped him to see things a little differently.

“Even though cancer is such a difficult thing, there was still so much happiness and hope throughout the day,” he said. “It made me appreciate my own life more and realize that I shouldn’t take things for granted. You don’t have to go through cancer yourself to understand how important it is to support others and be grateful for what you have.”

The mission of the Dempsey Center is “to make life better for people impacted by cancer through no-cost comprehensive supportive care” and Plati said that was obvious at the event.

“I was proud to see the support from all around the world,” he said. “It shows that no matter what you are going through, you are not alone.”

There were other unexpected discoveries by WHS students participating in the Annual Dempsey Challenge.

For Clark, the experience helped her to understand the importance of offering support for others during difficult times. She believes that being there can remind people that they are not alone.

“It doesn’t cost anything to let people know you care,” she said. 

LeBel learned that the financial aspect of medical bills is very expensive.

Helping one person to pay their bills can change their life for the better,” he said.

Perhaps Plati’s unexpected discovery might be a surprising fact for many.

“My generation, the Gen Z, often gets a bad rap,” he said. “We have the reputation for only caring about ourselves. But this proves that there are people in our generation that do care and come together to make a difference in others’ lives.”

According to Plati, the Dempsey Challenge event raised about $2 million. The Dempsey Center website emphasizes that all the money raised is used and goes directly to the services provided by the organization, which includes free cancer programs, counseling, and support for individuals, caretakers, and families impacted by cancer.

For more details about the Dempsey Center or to make a donation, visit www.dempseycenter.org. <

WHS sophomore to undertake grueling ‘Ultimate Murph Challenge’ to honor sacrifices of military veterans

By Ed Pierce

Lt. Michael Murphy was a U.S. Navy SEAL officer who tragically lost his life while taking intense Taliban fire to radio for help for his pinned-down squad after his team was compromised and surrounded by enemy forces near Asadabad, Afghanistan in 2005. His story has inspired Nate Plati, a Windham High School sophomore, to undertake The Ultimate "Murph" Challenge, an intense CrossFit workout and fundraising event conducted every year on Memorial Day.

Nate Plati, a Windham High School
sophomore, will undertake the 'Ultimate
Murph Challenge,' an intense CrossFit
workout to raise money for the Windham
Veterans Center on Memorial Day. The
event honors the late U.S. Navy SEAL
Lt. Michael Murphy, a Medal of Honor
recipient who lost his life protecting his
team in Afghanistan in 2005.
SUBMITTED PHOTO  

Plati plays varsity and club soccer, serves as a class officer and student council member, is a member of the WHS leadership team of Best Buddies, and assists with Unified athletics. He’s also a member of the National Honor Society with a 4.0 GPA, is a devout Catholic attending Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church and is passionate about fitness and ultra-endurance challenges.

His future plans are joining the U.S. Army Reserves, participating in ROTC throughout college, and serving America in the military following graduation.

“I first thought of the idea of creating the Ultimate Murph after hearing about the Original Murph Challenge, which is a one-mile run, 100 pull-ups, 200 pushups, 300 squats followed by one more one-mile run,” Plati said. “I then made the decision to create the Ultimate Murph as a challenge to push myself to my limits and promote the importance of doing hard things. With the Ultimate, I’ll be doing the Original Murph 10 times so a total of a 20-mile run, 1,000 pull-ups, 2,000 pushups and 3,000 squats.”

The Original Murph Challenge was designed to be a grueling test of both physical endurance and mental grit and is usually performed while wearing a 20-pound weight vest.

Jeff Cook of Windham, a retired US Navy, SEABEE and the Commander of VFW Post 10643, says that Plati reached out to him a few months ago and wanted to help veterans in Windham.

“He is committed to excellence and making Windham a better place. As a young man with aspirations of attending West Point, I feel we need to help Nate the best we can,” Cook said. “Very seldom do you find a young person with this kind of drive. He has already raised thousands of dollars on his own that he will be donating to the veterans’ organizations in Windham.

Cook says that Plati taking on the Ultimate Murph Challenge holds special significance to him.

“This hit home with me as I was attached to Navy S.O.COM and worked for the SEALS teams and was listening to the radio commands as Lt. Murphy’s mission took a bad turn and everyone died accept Marcus Luttrell only a few miles away from my Forward Operating Base,” he said.

According to Cook, having Plati perform the Ultimate Murph Challenge is something he created on his own and working with school athletics and WHS administration, to date he has raised just over $3,200 toward his $5,000 goal.

“I am a true believer that to succeed in life you must be able to do hard things and push yourself beyond your limits,” Plati said. “If you can overcome physical adversity, challenges you face later in your life become much more manageable. I believe no group accomplishes this better than the United States military and I am a huge supporter of the people who serve our country.”

Plati will break the challenge up into 11 parts. Each part will consist of a 1-mile run, 20 sets of 5 pull-ups, 10 pushups, and 15 squats, and each set has a minute of rest. After doing this part 10 different times, the final 11th part will consist of a 10-mile run.

He will be doing the event on the Windham High School Track on Memorial Day, Monday May 25 starting at 6 a.m. and running until about 4 p.m. with spectators and supporters welcome and greatly appreciated.

“I believe the hardest part will be after the first 10 parts,” Plati said. “Mentally it is going to be difficult knowing I have done 1,000 pull-ups, 2,000 pushups, 3,000 squats, and run for 10 miles, and still have another 10 miles to run. I am going to overcome this by remembering that I am doing this challenge for something greater than myself.”

Passionate about the U.S. Army and hoping to attend West Point after high school to become a combat engineer officer in the Army, Plati says that he would love to serve a full 20-year military career. 

“I enjoy the thought of an intense physical job with structure that will allow me to push myself, as well as open up many opportunities for me,” he said. “At the same time helping people and serving my country is a true passion of mine.”

He’s been training for this challenge six to seven days a week since the middle of January while still focusing on his high school studies.

“My favorite subjects are math and history,” Plati said. “I like problem solving in math and I love to learn about how the world works around me in history.”


As far as the Ultimate Murph Challenge goes, Plati says the key takeaway he wants people to remember is the importance in doing things greater than yourself especially to help those around you.

“Two quotes that have gotten me this far are ‘Do it for those who can’t, and to honor those who did’ and ‘1 Peter 4:1 Therefore since Christ died in the flesh for us, for you arm yourself with the same thought and purpose. For whoever has suffered in the flesh is through with sin,’ he said.

Plati believes the public should support and donate to his Ultimate Murph Challenge as a measure of respect for those Americans who have worn the uniform of the United States in the defense of freedom.

“This is about giving back to our veteran community who served our country and put their lives on the line so we may be free,” he said.

To learn more about Nate Plati and donate to his Ultimate Murph Challenge, visit https://givebutter.com/plati-murph-challenge. <