A survivor of the 1999 Columbine High School shooting visited the Valley on Friday to share his journey.

Craig Scott lost his sister and several friends and classmates in what was at the time the deadliest high school shooting in history.

“When I escaped that room that day, I was just so thankful to be alive, and I felt like I survived for a reason,” Craig Scott said.

Inspired by writings his sister Rachel left behind, Scott said he's found purpose in sharing his journey across the country.

“She talked about wanting to start a chain reaction of kindness and compassion,” Scott said of his sister. “She left this kind of challenge to her generation to step out for one another, and so I've been giving that challenge across the country since.”

On Friday, Scott brought that challenge to Rising Scholars Academy of South Texas.

The school has been the scene of two recent incidents where a student was detained last month after a gun was found in his backpack, and a lockdown in December after a threat was posted on social media.

Scott said school leaders decided it was an important time to reflect and focus on the topic of mental health as he shared his message with students. 

“I wanted to share with the students of how to become resilient, different messages that I have about forgiveness, about valuing yourself, about valuing other people,” Scott said. “Through an assembly. I did trainings to get a club started at the school that would continue projects to continue the messages so they're going to do things that positively impact the culture.”