Cameron Knepper covers his ears with his headphones, turns the music up and tucks his freezing hands inside his pockets – on a 3-mile trek to school.

That was only one day the 16-year-old sophomore had to endure the cold rain on his walk to North Lenoir High School to merely connect to WiFi while schools are closed.

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, Lenoir County Public Schools closed on March 16, and with no internet at home, Knepper has lugged his backpack ever since for three miles to school and three miles back home just so he can keep his grades up and go to college.

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"It was pouring down rain, I didn’t have a coat, and my hands felt terrible," Knepper said. "I listen to NF the rapper. A lot of his music speaks to you and helps change yourself.

"I keep walking, and I’ve never thought of turning back."

When Knepper could no longer connect to Gmail after being quarantined, he walked to school, set up his tablet on a bench, and emailed his teachers.

"My first thought was, ‘God, I’m going to be behind,’" Knepper said. "I emailed all my teachers, apologizing to them. I told them that I will do my work."

Knepper and his mother Mackenzie Ward moved from Louisiana last summer to North Carolina, where Knepper enrolled at North Lenoir and found the administration and staff to be kind and helpful.

Principal Gil Respess and science teacher Josh Ayers quickly stood out to the dedicated sophomore.

"The principal is one of the nicest people I have ever met," Knepper said. "He generally cares about every student, and I constantly hear him making sure every student feels at home here.

"The teachers are extremely nice."

After news traveled throughout the school that a student was walking to North Lenoir Monday through Friday to complete his assignments, the school posted a photo of Knepper on its Facebook page with quotes from teachers and the announcement that Ayers stepped up with a surprise gift.

Knepper now uses Ayers’ bicycle to get to and from school during the COVID-19 crisis. The generous donation has cut Knepper’s time down to 25 minutes from an hour and a half of walking.

"Cameron has always been very polite in class and has proven himself to be a hard worker," Ayers said in the Facebook post. "I was a little worried when school got out because I knew he didn’t have WiFi and never came to pick up paper copies, but shortly after our last day, he emailed me and said he would make it work with the digital copies. He’s gone above and beyond since then and has made 100’s on all the assignments so far. Excellent student and a better kid."

The Facebook post read, "Cameron will be getting his WiFi installed sometime in April."

For now, Knepper completes his English, science, and entrepreneurship assignments each day through the Zoom video conferencing app or Classroom Canvas on a school bench.

He first set up his workspace at the school’s entrance, fearing he wasn’t allowed to be on campus while school was closed.

"The principal told me I could sit on a bench. I picked the bench closest to the doors but I got sunburned," Knepper said. "I picked this bench because I needed coverage."

Knepper continues to arrive at 10 a.m. and leaves around 2 p.m. every day. It has never crossed his mind to just stay home, kick off his shoes, and avoid the work.

"I want to go to college and study video game design at Full Sail University in Florida," Knepper said. "I could blow it off, but what’s the point of that? I would fail if I blew it.

"I have this weird personality, and I can’t find a bad side to anything."