May 28, 2025 • 30 mins
This year, more than 2,750 seniors will don their caps and gowns and step up to receive their hard-earned diplomas. They head out into an ever-changing world at a time of economic uncertainty and rapid technological advances.
But they carry with them a confidence earned from having already faced and surmounted challenges — while notching a few wins along the way. The personal achievements of Canyons District’s Class of 2025 are exponential, from Sterling Scholar awards to National Merit Scholarship honors, not to mention 10 team state championships. This year’s seniors have been rewarded roughly $50 million in scholarships and will be attending more than 50 schools, from Harvard, Julliard, Boston University, and West Point to Stanford, Berkley, the University of Utah, and the Air Force Academy — just to name a few. Canyons has graduates joining every branch of the military, including some from Jordan High’s inaugural Naval Cadet Program who are now advancing to the Naval Academy.
In the last Connect Canyons episode for the year, we sat down with a few graduates who told us how they’re feeling about graduation. They’re full of that nervous excitement, ready to take on their next challenge. They shared some of their favorite memories from school and talk about the people who supported them along the way. They share their hopes and dreams after high school and the advice they would give themselves as incoming freshmen.
Congratulations to the Class of 2025, may all your dreams come true! You can see a list of available live streams for Canyons graduations here.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to Connect Canyons, a podcast sponsored by
Canyons School District.
This is a show about what weteach, how we teach and why we
get up close and personal withsome of the people who make our
schools great Students, teachers, principals, parents and more.
We meet national experts too.
Learning is about makingconnections, so connect with us
(00:27):
too.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Learning is about making connections, so connect
with us.
This year, more than 2,700seniors will don their caps and
gowns and step up to receivetheir hard-earned diplomas in
front of the Canyons communityas pomp and circumstance plays.
This year's graduates have awide variety of accomplishments,
from state champions toSterling scholars, national
rankings and national merits,not to mention the roughly 50
(00:49):
million dollars in scholarshipsrewarded to seniors across the
Canyons community.
Welcome to Connect Canyons.
I'm your host, frances Cook.
For this last episode of theschool year.
We had the opportunity to speakwith six of our graduates.
They share their feelings aboutgraduation, some of their
favorite memories from schooland the people who supported
(01:10):
them along the way.
They share with us their hopesand dreams after high school and
the advice they would givethemselves as incoming freshmen.
These are their stories.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
My name is Tessa Osborne.
I go to Alta High School.
I am, honestly, it's a mix offeelings.
I'm so excited just to kind ofmove on to the next chapter, but
I'm also a little sad to leavemy friends behind and it's kind
of like the final stretch.
That's what it feels like.
It's like that last I just gotto make it to.
Next week, so I am planning toattend New York Conservatory for
(01:45):
Dramatic Arts in New York,which I'm so excited about, and
I leave in September and I'mplanning on earning my BFA with
a musical theater degree.
I was about I was about sevenyears old when I kind of started
getting interested in it.
I remember we went to seeWicked downtown at the Capitol
(02:06):
Theater before Eccles was like abig thing and we got to do a
backstage tour of the stage andI remember our tour guide let us
like walk onto the stage andsee everything and I was like
this is what I want to do, but Ididn't really like get into it
until I was around sixth orseventh grade, just because of
resources and summer camps thatI found out about.
I think my parents have been mybiggest inspiration and my
(02:30):
supporters.
They're the ones that kind of.
When I expressed that I wasinterested in this, they're like
, yeah, and they they put in allthe time and you know, the
money gets expensive and theywanted me to do this because it
was something that I waspassionate about and also in my
high school career time here.
The theater directors LindsayStruxman and Lindsay Klein have
been so influential for me andthey really brought out my love
(02:51):
for performing and made meconfident in my abilities.
This made me more confident asa person, period.
I think if you compare me nowto freshman year me, obviously
that's going to be a bigdifference because it's four
years but I didn't have abackbone.
I was so nervous all the timeand I probably wouldn't usually
normally get on a stage and singmy heart out, but now it's like
(03:11):
what I want to do and kind ofwhat I crave.
I think, first of all, you miss100% of the shots you don't take
Like you may seem, like you mayfeel like you're inadequate for
a certain opportunity or a roleor something.
Like you think I couldn't, Icouldn't ever get that, I
couldn't ever do that.
But it doesn't ever hurt to trybecause you never know what
(03:32):
could come from it, because Ithink most of the opportunities
that I've been able to have camefrom me just being like, oh,
just try it, just because itlooks fun, not thinking anything
of it, and also that also theessence of found family.
I think, like I said before,the my friends through theater
have been like, I bet, some ofmy best friends through theater
and they're like my second home,my second family, and they're
(03:55):
the people that I get to hangout with the most and spend the
most time with and they're alsosome of my biggest supporters.
Recently we had our region andstate competition and I placed
first in region in musicaltheater, which was a big deal
for me.
I got a 74 and a 75 at state,so I medaled for that as well.
I was just recently nominatedfor the UHSMTA best actress.
I made it to top 10 finalistsand I got to perform on the
(04:16):
stage at Eccles Theater, whichwas so fun and it was so cool
and I met a lot of really niceand talented girls.
I would say once again just gofor every opportunity and take
what you're given, becausesometimes you'll be faced with
things that you don't expect or,in the theater sense, I guess,
while we're on that topic Rolesthat you didn't really want or
(04:37):
didn't expect, but taking themost of what you get and making
that experience so much fun isreally important, because it
could be one of your favoritethings that you do without even
realizing it.
Find the people that lift youup instead of drag you down, and
they support you througheverything that you do.
That could be family members orjust friends, or just people
(04:57):
that you'll meet in college orwhatever they plan on doing, but
those are the people thatyou'll want in your life for the
rest of your life, and they so,so important for everything not
just performing just anythingin life and also you see
something that you want.
You go for it.
High school has been one of thebest experiences ever.
(05:18):
I've met so many of my bestfriends that I hope to keep for
the rest of my life, and I thinkone of my biggest takeaways is
you deserve so much love and Ithink you should be confident in
yourself and don't be afraid tobe weird.
Sometimes I feel like that'sreally important.
Sometimes we get so scaredabout what other people think
(05:38):
which that's a basic answer butit really it kind of holds us
back some.
It holds us back all the timeand I think, just learning to
love yourself and also that youdeserve that love and that you
shouldn't have people in yourlife that don't reciprocate the
same way, and I think that'sreally important.
Speaker 4 (05:56):
I'm Dawson Douglas.
I go to Alto High School.
I'm super excited, also alittle nervous.
I have to be a real adult Atgraduation.
I've got about a month to hangout with friends and then I'm
heading over to the NavalAcademy.
Pretty much basic training allup until summer.
I chose the Naval Academybecause I love my country and I
(06:17):
want to serve and it sets you upfor life, free education and a
guaranteed job right out of it.
The main one is probably APPhysics 1 and 2.
My teacher Danford didn't seemto really care about class.
Also, calc AB with Ms Price.
Mr Stanford especially gotexcited when he was teaching.
(06:42):
He got excited when he learnedsomething new.
He got excited when he wasteaching.
He got excited when he learnedsomething new.
He got excited when he wasputting something up on the
board.
I was involved in a track.
The track has been good.
I learned that hard work paysoff and a lot of life is about
your mindset.
I ran the 400, and you decidethat you're going to go faster,
that you go faster about how youthink about it.
(07:06):
I'd love to be a pilot and flyfor Navy, after that maybe be a
commercial pilot.
No, I'd say maybe talk to morepeople, make more friends, like
get to know everybody in school.
Yeah, a little bit thinkingmore about what I want out of my
life, what I, what I reallywant to do the first time, where
(07:29):
it's not like a set thing thatyou have to kind of your choice
now choose the path you want totake.
That's up your life to figureout what you want to do and
pursue it, even if it seems likeit's a like it's going to be a
difficult goal to achieve.
Go after it and see if you can.
I don't know, I think a lot ofit was just making sure I was
(07:52):
always there, making sure I wasconsistently going to school,
doing my homework, doing all thelittle things that people don't
With track it was.
You just got to push throughfor that 50 seconds or that 20
seconds.
You got to decide that you'regoing to do it and just think
life is hard.
This isn't the hardest thingI'm going to do in my life.
I can push through this.
Speaker 6 (08:14):
Hi, I'm Cohen Bardsley and I come from Jordan
High School.
Really, I won't sayapprehensive, but like kind of
nervous, just because you knowI've been doing high school for
all my life so far Not even highschool, just school in general,
like K-12.
And just coming to a pointwhere that ends is kind of scary
.
I'm also really excited, though.
I have a good plan of where Iwant to go and what colleges I'm
(08:36):
going into, and I'm reallyconfident that I'll have a lot
of fun.
I have a scholarship for UtahState University up in Logan, so
I for Utah State University upin Logan, so I'm the head up
there.
I want to join the Utah ArmyNational Guard and do the ROTC
up there as well.
So then, commission out ofcollege as a officer in the
obviously Utah Army NationalGuard.
Then I want to go to being acop, so I'll be doing the
(08:57):
military and reserves.
I want to be a police officerfor four years and then after
that I want to apply for an FBIspecial officer.
It was.
I went to apply for an FBIspecial officer.
It was, I want to say, freshmanyear, and I kind of thought
vaguely of like the militaryslash, policing aspect, but I
just I think we were watchingSaving Captain Phillips and
there's a scene where there'slike the militaries they show up
(09:18):
and they're doing theirmilitary stuff.
I was just watching it likedang, that's, that's something I
want to do.
Then, from there, I also justlike looked into policing and
that was super, superinteresting.
I went into CTECH for criminaljustice, so it's like current
enrollment and it was.
That was amazing.
I was just I was just doingthat and I just like you feel
like that burning passion andyou're like, oh, this is
(09:38):
something I want to do for therest of my life.
I'm in the theater and choir ofJordan High School.
Those have been really awesome.
Theater especially has justbeen able to help me build my
confidence and my voice, sincewhen you're on stage you really
you can't really seem that shy,unless your role is to seem shy.
You have to have thisconfidence and this projection
and choir has kind of helped toreinforce that.
Outside of school I'm in theExplorers, post 9550.
(10:00):
It's this little paramilitaryprogram that we work with the
police departments and we justhelp them around.
It's kind of like an introprogram to becoming a cop almost
.
So all three of those, andobviously the NJROTC have just
been really, I feel,instrumental in helping me just
build myself up and growconfidence and just develop
leadership skills.
(10:20):
I learned how to sing.
I love that.
I learned how to act, how to bemyself, how to not be myself
I'd be dramatic when I need tobe.
I've learned a lot of militarydrill and whatnot.
I can disassemble an AR-15, Iguess.
In terms of law enforcement,I've learned all this really
cool behind-the-scenes stuff.
I now know the Miranda stuffwhen cops can and cannot search
(10:43):
you, action circumstances, allthis background stuff.
I did a couple of mock trialswith some programs so now I know
something about being a lawyer.
The main way I've seen it iswhenever I'm watching like a TV
show or something, and it alwaysor like whenever there's a cop
or someone military in it andI'll be there and my family
hates it.
But I'll be the ones like, oh,they're not doing that right.
Oh, they actually be.
Shouldn't behind the door,should be like behind the car.
(11:03):
When you're a tacticalsituation like that, it's just
broadened my mind into like thiswhole military and pop just
worlds.
That's just been really cool,since there's this so much back
that a lot civilians don'tnormally see Mr Newbolt, who's
one of my math teachers and he'sjust, he was just awesome.
I don't normally enjoy math butI was just taking his classes
(11:25):
like yeah, this is really cool.
He kind of helped me just buildup my confidence in terms of
stuff.
You know my extracurricularsand whatnot.
I probably the CTECH teacher,mr Edwin LaHalley, mr L, we
called him, he's awesome, he'sjust.
He always us laugh and he wasjust source of energy and I so
many amazing memories with himthat really helped me also push
(11:46):
into the world of being a cop.
Other teachers the top my headI'll tell my choir teacher as
well Mr Putnam, he's always,he's really great and helping me
learn how just like kind of bemore confident singer and he's
just, they're all just amazing,amazing teachers and they've
just helped me in littleindividual ways and I love it.
(12:07):
I really want to be like one ofthe people that's, I assume, a
bit egotistical but likewhenever someone's talking like
oh, it's like a living legend orsomething.
I want to be someone that likereally really heavily
contributes, whether it bethrough me being a cop or FBI
agent or just someone thatsomeone will talk about, kind of
like in that like whoa, thisguy did that he left the field.
I just want to leave an impact.
(12:27):
Really, it's what all boilsdown to.
I want people to remember meWhenever I'm gone.
I want people to or at least mykids or my family, to be able
to look back at the legacy, atlike, this thing I've created,
and just be impressed and justbe confident.
Really go into something thatyou feel passionate about,
because I mean, obviously,criminal justice.
(12:50):
That sparks this insane passionin me.
It just drives me.
But find something that alsodrives you.
You know, just figure outsomething that's you're going to
wake up, you're going to bereally happy and you're just,
it's not going to be a trudge,you're not going to be going to
work every day, but findsomething that you know A pays
well, but also B just allows youto, yeah, just be happy really
with your career in life or evensomething you just do on the
(13:11):
side.
Just find something that makesyou happy.
I'm just, I'm ready to walk mydiploma in that case and just
walk off into my new life.
I'm super grateful for JordanHigh School and what it's done
for me, but I am ready to moveon and just be my own person.
Speaker 5 (13:29):
Hi, my name is Tyree Pearson.
I'm a senior at Brighton HighSchool.
I'm feeling really great, likea little nervous, making new
friends and all that stuff, butI feel really happy, proud of
myself.
I love football.
That's my passion, my dream.
Like football is all I gotright now and my favorite
(13:50):
classes probably direct studies,just a little homework class.
My teacher always helped me outwith my homework, whatever I
need help with.
My dad got me into football andjust like like the crowd just
cheering my like, just cheeringme on the second QB, just like
(14:12):
being a monster on the fieldjust makes me happy.
Just like knowing the game,like taking the time, effort,
blood, sweat and tears.
Just like taking the time,effort, blood, sweat and tears.
Just like all comes to me andtakes my heart away and like I'm
in love with the game.
When I was at Judge Memorial Ihad this teacher.
(14:33):
Her name was Coach Casey.
She would always help me outwith all my homework and give me
different ways to like learnall my homework and give me
different ways to like learnthis all my homework.
And just like made a impact forme Outside of school.
Coach Cotero from Brighton HighSchool always just gave me a
(14:56):
chance and he just like read meand knowledge what I'd done gave
me a lot of chances.
He knew I was really aboutfootball no shortcuts.
He saw me every day afterpractice I'll be working out by
myself and then try asking acouple of my other teammates to
(15:17):
work out with me and he feltlike I'm a leader on and off the
field and just like sheteaching me new drills to work
on and yeah, and then my fatheralways gave me some free advices
sometimes it hurts, but he washonest and then always just
(15:40):
watching film with me andtelling me what I got to do
better as well.
Always be nice to everybody,just check up on them, just
socialize with people, just getto know them, talk to them and
you get a lot of stuff out of it.
Playing college football forWhitworth University, volcan
(16:03):
Washington Hopefully I become astarter there, but still got to
work hard, push myself, yeah andyeah goal my goal is just
football right now.
When I first went to Seattle Isaw the stadium.
I just like want to be that,like have that feeling of just
(16:24):
looking up at the sky, just likedang, I made it here Seeing all
the crowd just calling my name,having my jersey on and
probably being the best player Icould be, I mean it's really
great.
But college is way differentthan high school, so I'm not
(16:44):
trying to get too cocky about it.
Like I said, just keep workinghard and try to start varsity
and get to there.
Some team goals Everybody gotsthis.
I know that feeling beingnervous, getting ready to
graduate, just being or tryingto take care of yourself.
(17:07):
Now, if you have a goal, justdo it, just stick it out, and if
you fall out of it then it'sokay.
Just like, try to findsomething new and try to have
fun with it.
Speaker 7 (17:21):
Don't let people use you my name is abby west, I'm 18
and I'm a senior at jordan highschool.
It's it's a mix of everything,like I'm scared, I'm excited, um
, just every emotion you canthink of.
Mainly I'm really excitedbecause I've already had like
the next chapter of my lifealready planned out, so that's
(17:42):
kind of relieving.
But I'm still like reallyscared because I'm the last of
my six siblings to graduate.
I'm gonna be off to college inAugust and I'm going to be going
to Utah Tech University down inSt George for a bachelor's in
special education.
At Jordan and I think everyother high school, there is a
(18:06):
peer tutoring class where we getto help the students with
disabilities and I really likeit because for me, what helps me
not focus so much on like myanxieties and whatever?
I help other people.
And it's really nice becausethen the kids get to know you
and then they see you in thehall and it kind of just like
brightens your day wheneveryou're kind of having an off day
(18:27):
.
I'm on the wrestling team Istarted when I was a freshman,
which, going into high school, Ididn't think I was going to do
a sport, I was going to kind ofgo through the motion of school
because I'm not a school person,if that makes sense Like I'm
not, I don't like school.
But then Coach Babbo good oldCoach Babbo he saw me playing
(18:49):
tag with some of my friends andhe said you have a lot of spunk
and you need to put it somewhereand you should join the
wrestling team.
And I was like that's weird, Idon't want to do that.
And then I thought about itmore and I was like what's the
harm in trying it?
So I tried it and then I wentto state my freshman year and I
placed, which nobody thought Iwas going to.
(19:09):
Even my mom was like why areyou wrestling?
That's weird.
But I kept at it and I placedmy sophomore.
I was a state runner-up myjunior year and then I became a
state champion my senior year.
My final high school match wasmy state final and it was very
bittersweet.
(19:30):
The state is definitely a reallyinteresting experience because
it's at Utah Valley.
When I first walked into theunion on my first year I was
like what am I doing here?
I do not belong here, this iscrazy.
And then, as time went on, Igot really used to being there
because I mean I placed fourtimes and that's kind of unheard
(19:53):
of at Jordan, which was kind ofcool, but it's very like
thrill-seeking.
Wrestling has a lot of likethrill and excitement and for me
it was like the moment I walkin like my adrenaline is just
going crazy and I don't thinkabout anything else and it's
really fun.
You get to see all the mats andeverybody and the people and
(20:16):
refs and it's insane.
It's crowded too.
It's really crowded.
At State I was seated number one.
I was the person to beat and Iwas scared because I was like
what if I lose?
Or what if I don't measure upto what people have thought of
me?
And going into it I was justlike it's a match and I'm just
(20:42):
going to put it all on the line.
And the girl I ended upwrestling.
We wrestled in the divisionalsfor the number one spot and it
was a dogfight for sure and itended up being another dogfight
and when I won it was just likeI just had all of this weight
off my shoulders because I feltso much pressure to win.
(21:03):
But I remember what one of mycoaches told me before I started
.
He was it's just a match, it'ssix minutes, you'll be fine, and
that kind of just put me in aspot where I was like, okay, I'm
going to have fun.
When I started in school, I wasnot a good kid at all.
I was skipping class.
(21:25):
I was back talking anyone withauthority, anyone, even if it
was just a hall monitor.
But my teacher, coach Babel theone who got me into wrestling
saw me one day skipping classand he was like Abby, are you
okay?
Like do you need anyone to talkto?
And that kind of like sat withme for my freshman year.
(21:48):
I was like wow, like I didn'tthink anybody cared because,
like I just thought nobody cared.
And like Babo.
Babo, one of my old viceprincipals, before she went to
Corner Canyon, miss Kohler, shekind of gave me a kick in the
butt which I very much needed.
(22:10):
Also, officer Hoops he's stillthere.
He was my resource officer inmiddle school.
He also kind of gave me a kickin the butt.
And Babbo was like just he was,I call him my dad, like he's my
school dad, like he kind ofjust kept an eye on me and when
I was kind of going down like abad route, like mental route, he
(22:30):
would just be like Abby, areyou okay?
Do you need a break.
Do you need someone to talk to?
And I was.
Somebody actually cares, and sothat kind of gave me the
motivation to keep going atschool because I was so done
with it.
I was just ready to drop out,but those few people actually
kept me at school.
When I first started I wasdefinitely a hothead.
(22:52):
I let my emotions get the bestof me a lot in matches and then
it would just completely derailmy whole day.
But it always gave me somethingto look forward to like.
If I had a bad day at school orjust a bad day in general.
Wrestling was always kind oflike my escape, which was which
(23:13):
is really nice because a lot ofthings.
A lot of people think wrestlingis very just physical and like
we don't like each other and wejust want to hurt each other and
in some cases that is true, butit's honestly really mental
because it's six minutes ofnonstop moving Coaches, other
(23:34):
coaches like chirping at you,people in the stands chirping at
you and you always have to justshut everybody out and listen
to like your corner.
So it taught me a lot ofdiscipline and just like being
able to tune everybody out andfocus on what I need to do, as
well as, in a way, keeping up ongrades, because I'm gonna have
(23:55):
to wrestle in college and Iwon't be able to wrestle if I
have bad grades.
So that's kind of likeinstilled in me, like to manage
my grades well.
One of the goals for me for allfour years of my college is to
be an All-American, maybe be anational champion, I don't know.
I will see what the futureholds, but that's hopefully the
(24:16):
goal, and then hopefully also toget my teaching license at some
point that I can maybe comeback to a Canyon school and like
be a para educator or aco-teacher with one of the
schools, because I know they'reamazing schools, because I've
been to a lot of like theunified basketball games and
soccer games and whatnot and Ijust love seeing all the
(24:37):
teachers there and I just wantto be like one of those teachers
that the students can likecount on.
One of the first things I wouldprobably tell myself is you
don't have to do everythingeverybody else does to fit in
and you don't have to be cool tofit in and it's okay to be
different and it's okay to beyour own self, because my
(24:59):
freshman self wanted to fit in,because I was always the awkward
one out in middle school, but Iwanted.
I wanted to fit in, I wanted tobe the cool girl, I wanted to
have boyfriends, I wanted to dowhatever I wanted pretty much.
And now, looking back at it, Irealize that like that is not
the case at all.
I would, would just tell myselflike it is okay to be different
(25:21):
and it's okay to not be thecool kid for once, because I
would rather sacrifice my sociallife for, like, my happiness,
because I can survive withoutfriends.
That is one thing I've learnedis I can survive without people
constantly around me.
(25:42):
But yeah, I would just tellmyself to be you and try not to
be someone you're not.
Speaker 8 (25:50):
My name is Miles Layton and I go to Brighton High
School.
It is crazy, I mean I've beenlooking forward to it for the
last four years and in the lasttwo months or so it's just gone
by so fast.
But it's all good things, sosuper excited.
I was born in Utah, moved toCalifornia, spent one year in
California and then came backout here and was lucky to pretty
quickly find a good group offriends, and baseball helped a
(26:11):
lot with that.
Staying close to those kids asI got through high school and
then in high school was reallyfun, expanding my friend group
and just building connectionswith tons of different people.
One thing that was awesome withthat was doing peer tutoring
and building a lot ofrelationships with kids with
extra needs and just findingsuch a great love for them and
seeing the love that they havefor every day.
So that's probably been thegreatest class I've taken and
(26:35):
probably one of the highlightsof high school, along with
baseball, is peer tutoring.
Honestly, I don't know ifthere's a specific thing that I
could tell you, but I took theclass my freshman year, which
was uncommon.
Usually Most freshmen didn'ttake it, but I decided I wanted
to and I loved it and I've takenit every year since and every
opportunity I've gotten I'vebeen able to take it, which has
been fun.
My dad played baseball, myuncles played baseball, so it
(26:57):
was kind of in my blood.
But there's pictures of me whenI was not even one years old
with a bat and ball in my handand I just have grown to love it
and grown to find my own joy init, which has been fun.
Yeah, my high school career hasbeen awesome.
I mean, starting my freshmanyear I found a lot of good
friends and upperclassmen andit's been fun to become that.
For some of the underclassmenthis year's been super special.
We have a special team and aspecial group of guys that's
(27:21):
pretty talented In baseball.
There's so much more to it thanjust what meets the eye and
there's so much mentalpreparation that goes into it.
But on top of that there's somany life lessons and life
connections that baseball hasbettered me as a person and as a
son and a friend and a brotherway more than I could have
expected.
Just as a baseball player.
I mean 100%.
(27:43):
My parents I have the bestparents in the world and I'm so
grateful for them and all thehelp they've given me.
I'm also super grateful.
I have three sisters that aresuch amazing role models even
though some of them are youngerI still look up to them so much.
And then just my coaches,especially Coach Clevin, who's
our head coach at Brighton HighSchool.
He's taught me a lot and helpedme grow both as a baseball
player and as a young man.
It was awesome.
(28:03):
I mean, of course, I don't workhard to receive the recognition
, but it does help, obviously,and it's exciting to see hard
work pay off and see thatrecognition both from baseball
and from academics and just life.
I mean, academics has alwaysbeen important to me, especially
as a student athlete,maintaining that balance and
(28:23):
learning how to do that,balancing school and baseball
and I know that baseball isgreat and academics are great,
but as long as I could do themboth, that they would build off
each other and benefit me.
Next I'm actually serving amission for the Church of Jesus
Christ to Fiji and then when Ireturn I'm gonna play baseball
at the Air Force Academy.
Baseball opened thatopportunity and at first it
(28:49):
wasn't something that I wasimmediately drawn to, but as I
learned about the, the cultureof the academy and the family
that it was and the opportunitythat I had to be a part of it
was something I couldn't turndown.
Right now I'm thinking aboutdoing cyber security and
computer sciences major, butdefinitely still time and a lot
of great opportunities toconsider.
So my dad actually doescybersecurity for work and the
academy has an awesome programthat would set me up very well
(29:09):
and just a great opportunity totake advantage of.
Of course I want to playbaseball as long as I can.
I love baseball so much, but Ialso understand that it's an
opportunity to other dreams inlife.
So just getting through theacademy and I know how difficult
that might be but just to getthrough that and get through it
successfully and then use thatas a launching pad for the rest
(29:30):
of my life and my career.
I mean it's so cliche, but itgoes so fast, so enjoy it.
I mean, looking back now that Igraduate in a week or two here,
it's crazy how fast it's gone.
And so I just tell myself enjoyit and get to know as many
people as you can and just benice to everyone, because
everyone is actually so awesome,like the more I've gotten to
know everyone.
Speaker 2 (29:50):
We'd like to thank the graduates for sharing their
stories and their hopes anddreams with us.
Congratulations to the class of2025.
May all your dreams come true.
Welcome to Connect Canyons, a podcast sponsored by
Canyons School District.
This is a show about what weteach, how we teach and why we
get up close and personal withsome of the people who make our
schools great Students, teachers, principals, parents and more.
We meet national experts too.
Learning is about makingconnections, so connect with us
(00:27):
too.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Learning is about making connections, so connect
with us.
This year, more than 2,700seniors will don their caps and
gowns and step up to receivetheir hard-earned diplomas in
front of the Canyons communityas pomp and circumstance plays.
This year's graduates have awide variety of accomplishments,
from state champions toSterling scholars, national
rankings and national merits,not to mention the roughly 50
(00:49):
million dollars in scholarshipsrewarded to seniors across the
Canyons community.
Welcome to Connect Canyons.
I'm your host, frances Cook.
For this last episode of theschool year.
We had the opportunity to speakwith six of our graduates.
They share their feelings aboutgraduation, some of their
favorite memories from schooland the people who supported
(01:10):
them along the way.
They share with us their hopesand dreams after high school and
the advice they would givethemselves as incoming freshmen.
These are their stories.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
My name is Tessa Osborne.
I go to Alta High School.
I am, honestly, it's a mix offeelings.
I'm so excited just to kind ofmove on to the next chapter, but
I'm also a little sad to leavemy friends behind and it's kind
of like the final stretch.
That's what it feels like.
It's like that last I just gotto make it to.
Next week, so I am planning toattend New York Conservatory for
(01:45):
Dramatic Arts in New York,which I'm so excited about, and
I leave in September and I'mplanning on earning my BFA with
a musical theater degree.
I was about I was about sevenyears old when I kind of started
getting interested in it.
I remember we went to seeWicked downtown at the Capitol
(02:06):
Theater before Eccles was like abig thing and we got to do a
backstage tour of the stage andI remember our tour guide let us
like walk onto the stage andsee everything and I was like
this is what I want to do, but Ididn't really like get into it
until I was around sixth orseventh grade, just because of
resources and summer camps thatI found out about.
I think my parents have been mybiggest inspiration and my
(02:30):
supporters.
They're the ones that kind of.
When I expressed that I wasinterested in this, they're like
, yeah, and they they put in allthe time and you know, the
money gets expensive and theywanted me to do this because it
was something that I waspassionate about and also in my
high school career time here.
The theater directors LindsayStruxman and Lindsay Klein have
been so influential for me andthey really brought out my love
(02:51):
for performing and made meconfident in my abilities.
This made me more confident asa person, period.
I think if you compare me nowto freshman year me, obviously
that's going to be a bigdifference because it's four
years but I didn't have abackbone.
I was so nervous all the timeand I probably wouldn't usually
normally get on a stage and singmy heart out, but now it's like
(03:11):
what I want to do and kind ofwhat I crave.
I think, first of all, you miss100% of the shots you don't take
Like you may seem, like you mayfeel like you're inadequate for
a certain opportunity or a roleor something.
Like you think I couldn't, Icouldn't ever get that, I
couldn't ever do that.
But it doesn't ever hurt to trybecause you never know what
(03:32):
could come from it, because Ithink most of the opportunities
that I've been able to have camefrom me just being like, oh,
just try it, just because itlooks fun, not thinking anything
of it, and also that also theessence of found family.
I think, like I said before,the my friends through theater
have been like, I bet, some ofmy best friends through theater
and they're like my second home,my second family, and they're
(03:55):
the people that I get to hangout with the most and spend the
most time with and they're alsosome of my biggest supporters.
Recently we had our region andstate competition and I placed
first in region in musicaltheater, which was a big deal
for me.
I got a 74 and a 75 at state,so I medaled for that as well.
I was just recently nominatedfor the UHSMTA best actress.
I made it to top 10 finalistsand I got to perform on the
(04:16):
stage at Eccles Theater, whichwas so fun and it was so cool
and I met a lot of really niceand talented girls.
I would say once again just gofor every opportunity and take
what you're given, becausesometimes you'll be faced with
things that you don't expect or,in the theater sense, I guess,
while we're on that topic Rolesthat you didn't really want or
(04:37):
didn't expect, but taking themost of what you get and making
that experience so much fun isreally important, because it
could be one of your favoritethings that you do without even
realizing it.
Find the people that lift youup instead of drag you down, and
they support you througheverything that you do.
That could be family members orjust friends, or just people
(04:57):
that you'll meet in college orwhatever they plan on doing, but
those are the people thatyou'll want in your life for the
rest of your life, and they so,so important for everything not
just performing just anythingin life and also you see
something that you want.
You go for it.
High school has been one of thebest experiences ever.
(05:18):
I've met so many of my bestfriends that I hope to keep for
the rest of my life, and I thinkone of my biggest takeaways is
you deserve so much love and Ithink you should be confident in
yourself and don't be afraid tobe weird.
Sometimes I feel like that'sreally important.
Sometimes we get so scaredabout what other people think
(05:38):
which that's a basic answer butit really it kind of holds us
back some.
It holds us back all the timeand I think, just learning to
love yourself and also that youdeserve that love and that you
shouldn't have people in yourlife that don't reciprocate the
same way, and I think that'sreally important.
Speaker 4 (05:56):
I'm Dawson Douglas.
I go to Alto High School.
I'm super excited, also alittle nervous.
I have to be a real adult Atgraduation.
I've got about a month to hangout with friends and then I'm
heading over to the NavalAcademy.
Pretty much basic training allup until summer.
I chose the Naval Academybecause I love my country and I
(06:17):
want to serve and it sets you upfor life, free education and a
guaranteed job right out of it.
The main one is probably APPhysics 1 and 2.
My teacher Danford didn't seemto really care about class.
Also, calc AB with Ms Price.
Mr Stanford especially gotexcited when he was teaching.
(06:42):
He got excited when he learnedsomething new.
He got excited when he wasteaching.
He got excited when he learnedsomething new.
He got excited when he wasputting something up on the
board.
I was involved in a track.
The track has been good.
I learned that hard work paysoff and a lot of life is about
your mindset.
I ran the 400, and you decidethat you're going to go faster,
that you go faster about how youthink about it.
(07:06):
I'd love to be a pilot and flyfor Navy, after that maybe be a
commercial pilot.
No, I'd say maybe talk to morepeople, make more friends, like
get to know everybody in school.
Yeah, a little bit thinkingmore about what I want out of my
life, what I, what I reallywant to do the first time, where
(07:29):
it's not like a set thing thatyou have to kind of your choice
now choose the path you want totake.
That's up your life to figureout what you want to do and
pursue it, even if it seems likeit's a like it's going to be a
difficult goal to achieve.
Go after it and see if you can.
I don't know, I think a lot ofit was just making sure I was
(07:52):
always there, making sure I wasconsistently going to school,
doing my homework, doing all thelittle things that people don't
With track it was.
You just got to push throughfor that 50 seconds or that 20
seconds.
You got to decide that you'regoing to do it and just think
life is hard.
This isn't the hardest thingI'm going to do in my life.
I can push through this.
Speaker 6 (08:14):
Hi, I'm Cohen Bardsley and I come from Jordan
High School.
Really, I won't sayapprehensive, but like kind of
nervous, just because you knowI've been doing high school for
all my life so far Not even highschool, just school in general,
like K-12.
And just coming to a pointwhere that ends is kind of scary
.
I'm also really excited, though.
I have a good plan of where Iwant to go and what colleges I'm
(08:36):
going into, and I'm reallyconfident that I'll have a lot
of fun.
I have a scholarship for UtahState University up in Logan, so
I for Utah State University upin Logan, so I'm the head up
there.
I want to join the Utah ArmyNational Guard and do the ROTC
up there as well.
So then, commission out ofcollege as a officer in the
obviously Utah Army NationalGuard.
Then I want to go to being acop, so I'll be doing the
(08:57):
military and reserves.
I want to be a police officerfor four years and then after
that I want to apply for an FBIspecial officer.
It was.
I went to apply for an FBIspecial officer.
It was, I want to say, freshmanyear, and I kind of thought
vaguely of like the militaryslash, policing aspect, but I
just I think we were watchingSaving Captain Phillips and
there's a scene where there'slike the militaries they show up
(09:18):
and they're doing theirmilitary stuff.
I was just watching it likedang, that's, that's something I
want to do.
Then, from there, I also justlike looked into policing and
that was super, superinteresting.
I went into CTECH for criminaljustice, so it's like current
enrollment and it was.
That was amazing.
I was just I was just doingthat and I just like you feel
like that burning passion andyou're like, oh, this is
(09:38):
something I want to do for therest of my life.
I'm in the theater and choir ofJordan High School.
Those have been really awesome.
Theater especially has justbeen able to help me build my
confidence and my voice, sincewhen you're on stage you really
you can't really seem that shy,unless your role is to seem shy.
You have to have thisconfidence and this projection
and choir has kind of helped toreinforce that.
Outside of school I'm in theExplorers, post 9550.
(10:00):
It's this little paramilitaryprogram that we work with the
police departments and we justhelp them around.
It's kind of like an introprogram to becoming a cop almost
.
So all three of those, andobviously the NJROTC have just
been really, I feel,instrumental in helping me just
build myself up and growconfidence and just develop
leadership skills.
(10:20):
I learned how to sing.
I love that.
I learned how to act, how to bemyself, how to not be myself
I'd be dramatic when I need tobe.
I've learned a lot of militarydrill and whatnot.
I can disassemble an AR-15, Iguess.
In terms of law enforcement,I've learned all this really
cool behind-the-scenes stuff.
I now know the Miranda stuffwhen cops can and cannot search
(10:43):
you, action circumstances, allthis background stuff.
I did a couple of mock trialswith some programs so now I know
something about being a lawyer.
The main way I've seen it iswhenever I'm watching like a TV
show or something, and it alwaysor like whenever there's a cop
or someone military in it andI'll be there and my family
hates it.
But I'll be the ones like, oh,they're not doing that right.
Oh, they actually be.
Shouldn't behind the door,should be like behind the car.
(11:03):
When you're a tacticalsituation like that, it's just
broadened my mind into like thiswhole military and pop just
worlds.
That's just been really cool,since there's this so much back
that a lot civilians don'tnormally see Mr Newbolt, who's
one of my math teachers and he'sjust, he was just awesome.
I don't normally enjoy math butI was just taking his classes
(11:25):
like yeah, this is really cool.
He kind of helped me just buildup my confidence in terms of
stuff.
You know my extracurricularsand whatnot.
I probably the CTECH teacher,mr Edwin LaHalley, mr L, we
called him, he's awesome, he'sjust.
He always us laugh and he wasjust source of energy and I so
many amazing memories with himthat really helped me also push
(11:46):
into the world of being a cop.
Other teachers the top my headI'll tell my choir teacher as
well Mr Putnam, he's always,he's really great and helping me
learn how just like kind of bemore confident singer and he's
just, they're all just amazing,amazing teachers and they've
just helped me in littleindividual ways and I love it.
(12:07):
I really want to be like one ofthe people that's, I assume, a
bit egotistical but likewhenever someone's talking like
oh, it's like a living legend orsomething.
I want to be someone that likereally really heavily
contributes, whether it bethrough me being a cop or FBI
agent or just someone thatsomeone will talk about, kind of
like in that like whoa, thisguy did that he left the field.
I just want to leave an impact.
(12:27):
Really, it's what all boilsdown to.
I want people to remember meWhenever I'm gone.
I want people to or at least mykids or my family, to be able
to look back at the legacy, atlike, this thing I've created,
and just be impressed and justbe confident.
Really go into something thatyou feel passionate about,
because I mean, obviously,criminal justice.
(12:50):
That sparks this insane passionin me.
It just drives me.
But find something that alsodrives you.
You know, just figure outsomething that's you're going to
wake up, you're going to bereally happy and you're just,
it's not going to be a trudge,you're not going to be going to
work every day, but findsomething that you know A pays
well, but also B just allows youto, yeah, just be happy really
with your career in life or evensomething you just do on the
(13:11):
side.
Just find something that makesyou happy.
I'm just, I'm ready to walk mydiploma in that case and just
walk off into my new life.
I'm super grateful for JordanHigh School and what it's done
for me, but I am ready to moveon and just be my own person.
Speaker 5 (13:29):
Hi, my name is Tyree Pearson.
I'm a senior at Brighton HighSchool.
I'm feeling really great, likea little nervous, making new
friends and all that stuff, butI feel really happy, proud of
myself.
I love football.
That's my passion, my dream.
Like football is all I gotright now and my favorite
(13:50):
classes probably direct studies,just a little homework class.
My teacher always helped me outwith my homework, whatever I
need help with.
My dad got me into football andjust like like the crowd just
cheering my like, just cheeringme on the second QB, just like
(14:12):
being a monster on the fieldjust makes me happy.
Just like knowing the game,like taking the time, effort,
blood, sweat and tears.
Just like taking the time,effort, blood, sweat and tears.
Just like all comes to me andtakes my heart away and like I'm
in love with the game.
When I was at Judge Memorial Ihad this teacher.
(14:33):
Her name was Coach Casey.
She would always help me outwith all my homework and give me
different ways to like learnall my homework and give me
different ways to like learnthis all my homework.
And just like made a impact forme Outside of school.
Coach Cotero from Brighton HighSchool always just gave me a
(14:56):
chance and he just like read meand knowledge what I'd done gave
me a lot of chances.
He knew I was really aboutfootball no shortcuts.
He saw me every day afterpractice I'll be working out by
myself and then try asking acouple of my other teammates to
(15:17):
work out with me and he feltlike I'm a leader on and off the
field and just like sheteaching me new drills to work
on and yeah, and then my fatheralways gave me some free advices
sometimes it hurts, but he washonest and then always just
(15:40):
watching film with me andtelling me what I got to do
better as well.
Always be nice to everybody,just check up on them, just
socialize with people, just getto know them, talk to them and
you get a lot of stuff out of it.
Playing college football forWhitworth University, volcan
(16:03):
Washington Hopefully I become astarter there, but still got to
work hard, push myself, yeah andyeah goal my goal is just
football right now.
When I first went to Seattle Isaw the stadium.
I just like want to be that,like have that feeling of just
(16:24):
looking up at the sky, just likedang, I made it here Seeing all
the crowd just calling my name,having my jersey on and
probably being the best player Icould be, I mean it's really
great.
But college is way differentthan high school, so I'm not
(16:44):
trying to get too cocky about it.
Like I said, just keep workinghard and try to start varsity
and get to there.
Some team goals Everybody gotsthis.
I know that feeling beingnervous, getting ready to
graduate, just being or tryingto take care of yourself.
(17:07):
Now, if you have a goal, justdo it, just stick it out, and if
you fall out of it then it'sokay.
Just like, try to findsomething new and try to have
fun with it.
Speaker 7 (17:21):
Don't let people use you my name is abby west, I'm 18
and I'm a senior at jordan highschool.
It's it's a mix of everything,like I'm scared, I'm excited, um
, just every emotion you canthink of.
Mainly I'm really excitedbecause I've already had like
the next chapter of my lifealready planned out, so that's
(17:42):
kind of relieving.
But I'm still like reallyscared because I'm the last of
my six siblings to graduate.
I'm gonna be off to college inAugust and I'm going to be going
to Utah Tech University down inSt George for a bachelor's in
special education.
At Jordan and I think everyother high school, there is a
(18:06):
peer tutoring class where we getto help the students with
disabilities and I really likeit because for me, what helps me
not focus so much on like myanxieties and whatever?
I help other people.
And it's really nice becausethen the kids get to know you
and then they see you in thehall and it kind of just like
brightens your day wheneveryou're kind of having an off day
(18:27):
.
I'm on the wrestling team Istarted when I was a freshman,
which, going into high school, Ididn't think I was going to do
a sport, I was going to kind ofgo through the motion of school
because I'm not a school person,if that makes sense Like I'm
not, I don't like school.
But then Coach Babbo good oldCoach Babbo he saw me playing
(18:49):
tag with some of my friends andhe said you have a lot of spunk
and you need to put it somewhereand you should join the
wrestling team.
And I was like that's weird, Idon't want to do that.
And then I thought about itmore and I was like what's the
harm in trying it?
So I tried it and then I wentto state my freshman year and I
placed, which nobody thought Iwas going to.
(19:09):
Even my mom was like why areyou wrestling?
That's weird.
But I kept at it and I placedmy sophomore.
I was a state runner-up myjunior year and then I became a
state champion my senior year.
My final high school match wasmy state final and it was very
bittersweet.
(19:30):
The state is definitely a reallyinteresting experience because
it's at Utah Valley.
When I first walked into theunion on my first year I was
like what am I doing here?
I do not belong here, this iscrazy.
And then, as time went on, Igot really used to being there
because I mean I placed fourtimes and that's kind of unheard
(19:53):
of at Jordan, which was kind ofcool, but it's very like
thrill-seeking.
Wrestling has a lot of likethrill and excitement and for me
it was like the moment I walkin like my adrenaline is just
going crazy and I don't thinkabout anything else and it's
really fun.
You get to see all the mats andeverybody and the people and
(20:16):
refs and it's insane.
It's crowded too.
It's really crowded.
At State I was seated number one.
I was the person to beat and Iwas scared because I was like
what if I lose?
Or what if I don't measure upto what people have thought of
me?
And going into it I was justlike it's a match and I'm just
(20:42):
going to put it all on the line.
And the girl I ended upwrestling.
We wrestled in the divisionalsfor the number one spot and it
was a dogfight for sure and itended up being another dogfight
and when I won it was just likeI just had all of this weight
off my shoulders because I feltso much pressure to win.
(21:03):
But I remember what one of mycoaches told me before I started
.
He was it's just a match, it'ssix minutes, you'll be fine, and
that kind of just put me in aspot where I was like, okay, I'm
going to have fun.
When I started in school, I wasnot a good kid at all.
I was skipping class.
(21:25):
I was back talking anyone withauthority, anyone, even if it
was just a hall monitor.
But my teacher, coach Babel theone who got me into wrestling
saw me one day skipping classand he was like Abby, are you
okay?
Like do you need anyone to talkto?
And that kind of like sat withme for my freshman year.
(21:48):
I was like wow, like I didn'tthink anybody cared because,
like I just thought nobody cared.
And like Babo.
Babo, one of my old viceprincipals, before she went to
Corner Canyon, miss Kohler, shekind of gave me a kick in the
butt which I very much needed.
(22:10):
Also, officer Hoops he's stillthere.
He was my resource officer inmiddle school.
He also kind of gave me a kickin the butt.
And Babbo was like just he was,I call him my dad, like he's my
school dad, like he kind ofjust kept an eye on me and when
I was kind of going down like abad route, like mental route, he
(22:30):
would just be like Abby, areyou okay?
Do you need a break.
Do you need someone to talk to?
And I was.
Somebody actually cares, and sothat kind of gave me the
motivation to keep going atschool because I was so done
with it.
I was just ready to drop out,but those few people actually
kept me at school.
When I first started I wasdefinitely a hothead.
(22:52):
I let my emotions get the bestof me a lot in matches and then
it would just completely derailmy whole day.
But it always gave me somethingto look forward to like.
If I had a bad day at school orjust a bad day in general.
Wrestling was always kind oflike my escape, which was which
(23:13):
is really nice because a lot ofthings.
A lot of people think wrestlingis very just physical and like
we don't like each other and wejust want to hurt each other and
in some cases that is true, butit's honestly really mental
because it's six minutes ofnonstop moving Coaches, other
(23:34):
coaches like chirping at you,people in the stands chirping at
you and you always have to justshut everybody out and listen
to like your corner.
So it taught me a lot ofdiscipline and just like being
able to tune everybody out andfocus on what I need to do, as
well as, in a way, keeping up ongrades, because I'm gonna have
(23:55):
to wrestle in college and Iwon't be able to wrestle if I
have bad grades.
So that's kind of likeinstilled in me, like to manage
my grades well.
One of the goals for me for allfour years of my college is to
be an All-American, maybe be anational champion, I don't know.
I will see what the futureholds, but that's hopefully the
(24:16):
goal, and then hopefully also toget my teaching license at some
point that I can maybe comeback to a Canyon school and like
be a para educator or aco-teacher with one of the
schools, because I know they'reamazing schools, because I've
been to a lot of like theunified basketball games and
soccer games and whatnot and Ijust love seeing all the
(24:37):
teachers there and I just wantto be like one of those teachers
that the students can likecount on.
One of the first things I wouldprobably tell myself is you
don't have to do everythingeverybody else does to fit in
and you don't have to be cool tofit in and it's okay to be
different and it's okay to beyour own self, because my
(24:59):
freshman self wanted to fit in,because I was always the awkward
one out in middle school, but Iwanted.
I wanted to fit in, I wanted tobe the cool girl, I wanted to
have boyfriends, I wanted to dowhatever I wanted pretty much.
And now, looking back at it, Irealize that like that is not
the case at all.
I would, would just tell myselflike it is okay to be different
(25:21):
and it's okay to not be thecool kid for once, because I
would rather sacrifice my sociallife for, like, my happiness,
because I can survive withoutfriends.
That is one thing I've learnedis I can survive without people
constantly around me.
(25:42):
But yeah, I would just tellmyself to be you and try not to
be someone you're not.
Speaker 8 (25:50):
My name is Miles Layton and I go to Brighton High
School.
It is crazy, I mean I've beenlooking forward to it for the
last four years and in the lasttwo months or so it's just gone
by so fast.
But it's all good things, sosuper excited.
I was born in Utah, moved toCalifornia, spent one year in
California and then came backout here and was lucky to pretty
quickly find a good group offriends, and baseball helped a
(26:11):
lot with that.
Staying close to those kids asI got through high school and
then in high school was reallyfun, expanding my friend group
and just building connectionswith tons of different people.
One thing that was awesome withthat was doing peer tutoring
and building a lot ofrelationships with kids with
extra needs and just findingsuch a great love for them and
seeing the love that they havefor every day.
So that's probably been thegreatest class I've taken and
(26:35):
probably one of the highlightsof high school, along with
baseball, is peer tutoring.
Honestly, I don't know ifthere's a specific thing that I
could tell you, but I took theclass my freshman year, which
was uncommon.
Usually Most freshmen didn'ttake it, but I decided I wanted
to and I loved it and I've takenit every year since and every
opportunity I've gotten I'vebeen able to take it, which has
been fun.
My dad played baseball, myuncles played baseball, so it
(26:57):
was kind of in my blood.
But there's pictures of me whenI was not even one years old
with a bat and ball in my handand I just have grown to love it
and grown to find my own joy init, which has been fun.
Yeah, my high school career hasbeen awesome.
I mean, starting my freshmanyear I found a lot of good
friends and upperclassmen andit's been fun to become that.
For some of the underclassmenthis year's been super special.
We have a special team and aspecial group of guys that's
(27:21):
pretty talented In baseball.
There's so much more to it thanjust what meets the eye and
there's so much mentalpreparation that goes into it.
But on top of that there's somany life lessons and life
connections that baseball hasbettered me as a person and as a
son and a friend and a brotherway more than I could have
expected.
Just as a baseball player.
I mean 100%.
(27:43):
My parents I have the bestparents in the world and I'm so
grateful for them and all thehelp they've given me.
I'm also super grateful.
I have three sisters that aresuch amazing role models even
though some of them are youngerI still look up to them so much.
And then just my coaches,especially Coach Clevin, who's
our head coach at Brighton HighSchool.
He's taught me a lot and helpedme grow both as a baseball
player and as a young man.
It was awesome.
(28:03):
I mean, of course, I don't workhard to receive the recognition
, but it does help, obviously,and it's exciting to see hard
work pay off and see thatrecognition both from baseball
and from academics and just life.
I mean, academics has alwaysbeen important to me, especially
as a student athlete,maintaining that balance and
(28:23):
learning how to do that,balancing school and baseball
and I know that baseball isgreat and academics are great,
but as long as I could do themboth, that they would build off
each other and benefit me.
Next I'm actually serving amission for the Church of Jesus
Christ to Fiji and then when Ireturn I'm gonna play baseball
at the Air Force Academy.
Baseball opened thatopportunity and at first it
(28:49):
wasn't something that I wasimmediately drawn to, but as I
learned about the, the cultureof the academy and the family
that it was and the opportunitythat I had to be a part of it
was something I couldn't turndown.
Right now I'm thinking aboutdoing cyber security and
computer sciences major, butdefinitely still time and a lot
of great opportunities toconsider.
So my dad actually doescybersecurity for work and the
academy has an awesome programthat would set me up very well
(29:09):
and just a great opportunity totake advantage of.
Of course I want to playbaseball as long as I can.
I love baseball so much, but Ialso understand that it's an
opportunity to other dreams inlife.
So just getting through theacademy and I know how difficult
that might be but just to getthrough that and get through it
successfully and then use thatas a launching pad for the rest
(29:30):
of my life and my career.
I mean it's so cliche, but itgoes so fast, so enjoy it.
I mean, looking back now that Igraduate in a week or two here,
it's crazy how fast it's gone.
And so I just tell myself enjoyit and get to know as many
people as you can and just benice to everyone, because
everyone is actually so awesome,like the more I've gotten to
know everyone.
Speaker 2 (29:50):
We'd like to thank the graduates for sharing their
stories and their hopes anddreams with us.
Congratulations to the class of2025.
May all your dreams come true.
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