9 saint francis magazine | fall 2025 People are often surprised to learn the breadth of the work Cpt. Sean Kampe (BS ’17) does as an Army Veterinary Corps Officer. They’ll assume that he deals with animal care, and he does. But his duties stretch much further. Take the Army-Navy football game last December. “At one point, I was personally guarding President-elect Trump’s food,” Kampe said. “So, sometimes I end up doing weird stuff like that.” Kampe’s job as an Army veterinarian does include tasks such as treating government-owned animals, including dogs and horses used by the Secret Service, FBI and other government entities. However, many people don’t realize that veterinarians are also public health officers involved in inspections. “There was a week where I performed (an animal) surgery on Monday and then, by Wednesday, I was auditing an ice-cream factory in Vermont,” Kampe said. Today, Kampe is stationed in Kusel, a town in the Kusel district of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. He moved there in August, along with his wife, Ceairra (Bentley) Kampe (BSN ’16), and their daughter Sloane. Kampe’s commitment to the Army, which provided the scholarship for him to become a veterinarian, continues through at least 2028, and he and his family are expected to remain in Germany through that time. “There is a lot of training for missions, in case we do get deployed,” he said. “We do a lot of everything.” Sean, from the Chicago suburb of Berwyn, Illinois, and Ceairra, from Kendallville, Indiana, met as students at Saint Francis. Sean was a soccer player in the pre-veterinary program and Ceairra was a cross country and track-and-field runner studying nursing. They began dating when Sean was a sophomore and Ceairra a junior. They set their first date to go to a soccer house party, but “we ended up just sitting outside Padua (Hall), basically talking all night,” Sean said. They were married in 2020, two weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic essentially shut the country down. Ceairra, who began her nursing career with Parkview Health, was working as a travel nurse at the most in-demand and frightening time. “During that whole time, Ceairra was treating the worst-of- the-worst COVID patients,” Sean said. “She was one of the frontline workers.” “It was definitely worth it to help the patients that we were able to help,” Ceairra said. “But then I kind of got a little burnt out from travel nursing and just wanted to stay home where Sean was.” Ceairra returned to hospital nursing, and they ended up stationed in Virginia, where she worked part time in cardiac rehabilitation. When Sloane arrived around Christmas last year, Ceairra became primarily a stay-at-home mom. Upon learning the family would be stationed in Germany for at least three years, Sean and Ceairra both trusted God to lead the way. Sean was raised a Catholic and Ceairra became a Catholic upon learning about the faith at Saint Francis. “One thing I’ve learned, especially from Sean, is that you kind of go with it,” Ceairra said. “If we’re stressed or something’s not quite going our way—it’s God’s will be done. We know he has a plan for us.” Sean and Ceairra mention their gratefulness for mentors at Saint Francis who helped them along the way to where they are now, both as professionals and as people. “The Science Department in general—everyone over at Achatz (Hall of Science)—was exactly what I needed in order to get myself to this point,” Sean said. “I am where I’m at today because of that one-on-one mentorship from every single faculty member.” Ceairra echoes those comments about the Health Sciences faculty and with all those who helped her along her faith journey. “I just felt so at home at Saint Francis,” she said. The couple say they are excited to immerse themselves into the culture in Germany. They live in a house outside the Army base and their family will also be growing—they are expecting their second child in the spring. “Going to nursing school at Saint Francis, I never imagined I would be where I am right now, living in Germany with a family,” Ceairra said. “It’s pretty wild, but anytime anything happens, we know—God’s will be done.” 9 saint francis magazine | fall 2025 Sean (BS ’17) and Ceairra (BSN ’16) Kampe couldn’t have imagined living in Germany when they met as Saint Francis athletes, but they are committed to following God’s will wherever it takes them. Photography provided by Sean (BS ’17) and Ceairra (BSN ’16) Kampe
