Families, friends and others who gathered to support Park City High School’s 2024 graduating class took to the bleachers bordering the west side of Dozier Field an hour before the 5 p.m. commencement began, and by 4:30 p.m., the seats were nearly filled.
Others spread blankets on the football field or found a place on the surrounding lawns as they waited for 400 soon-to-be-graduates to fill rows of white folding chairs facing a stage adorned with a hard-to-miss “2024” sitting in a red, grey and white balloon arch.
Ominous clouds collected in the sky, but the rain held off until after the kids beneath could graduate.
The final passage began when students gowned in red took their assigned chairs to Edward Elgar’s “Pomp and Circumstance,” and Park City School District Superintendent Jill Gildea led with a welcome before Valedictorian Hale Nickell addressed his peers.
“I have been scared of the future,” he said. “Afraid that I didn’t work hard enough, meet enough people, missed out on too many opportunities. But when I look in front of me, I’m reminded of all the amazing things and people that I didn’t miss out on, and I couldn’t be more grateful.”
He said the most important lesson he’s taking with him as he leaves high school is to appreciate the people who shared his experiences. He recalled when he and his buddies went hiking in southern Utah over spring break.
“One of our trip days was a slot canyon day, where we were planning to hike up and canyoneer our way into one of the many slot canyons around Hanksville,” Nickell said. “We started our hike at a reasonable 10 a.m. and reached the canyon around noon.”
After waiting for the cloudy sky to clear, the group continued through the narrow ridge but ended up at a 20-foot sheer cliff when they thought they were approaching the end.
“Out of all the high honor roll students there, not one of us thought it might have been a good idea to turn around and cut our losses,” Nickell said. “Instead, the stubborn STEM kids that we were, we made a human tower to lift each person up.”
On the pack went over a handful of more cliffs. Finally, they reached the end of the slot canyon at 8 p.m. and had two and a half hours of hiking to get back.
“Life is a lot like that slot canyon,” Nickell said. “Long, hard and with lots of obstacles. And the best way to get through that slot canyon is the same way we get through life — with people. … Never stop hiking, climbing and scratching your way to that next ledge.”
In his speech, Saludictorian George Beal voiced his concern that the future might be composed by Chat GPT more than his generation, and he decided to ask the generative AI program to write its own speech. He read lines the computer gave him, analyzed them, and then gave his own try.
The bot had a few great lines — even going so far as to aptly identify the school’s unofficial motto as “fresh powder today, homework tomorrow” — but Beal’s speech undeniably hit home with a flair computers lack.
“I don’t think that AI is going to take over the world because it lacks something that we here have in abundance — creativity,” Beal said. “I’ve seen some truly incredible things be accomplished by this class when we set our minds to it. You’re the ones with the power to change the world. Let’s go and do it.”
The class also heard from Latinos in Action President Jessica Loya, Student Body President Zach Minter and Senior Class President Scarlett Brinton.
“I know that some of us have struggled to get here,” Loya said. “We trudged through impossible FAFSA applications, we had child-care responsibilities after work, we completed homework late into the night after work, and we fought language and cultural barriers along the way.”
But here they were, graduating.
“Thank you to community members who opened doors for first-generation students by means of scholarships internships, mentoring, tutoring and behind-the-scenes work for programs like Latinos in Action, Dream Big and Bright Futures,” she said.
Park City High School Principal Roger Arbabi commended the class on their accomplishments and praising the paths they chose.
He said 82% of the class, or 330 of the students, will pursue higher education at 110 colleges in 34 states and three countries. Some had made plans to join the military, others to take a gap year, and others to serve their religious organization.
Sixty-six percent of the class’ first-generation students are included in the crowd going on to further their education.
“But your accomplishments extend far beyond the classroom. This graduating class has left their mark in the arts,” Arbabi said.
He congratulated students in the school’s music program on their “breathtaking performances” and high scores at their state competition, the “theater nerds” for their Chicago performance, and the visual artists for the work they’ve displayed around the school.
“You have embraced creativity as a means of expression,” he said.
He also congratulated the student-athletes on their victories.
“Did you know that you only lost one Region 10 athletic contest in the fall?” he asked. “Many teams finished in the top three in state.
“You are just starting adulthood,” he said. “And I know that you are ready for the next chapter of your lives.”
As students crossed over the stage to collect their diplomas and shake hands with administrators, their names often got stuck in Park City High School teachers Joanna Andres and Ann Sykes’ throats as they announced students they were close with.
“I hope you remember this great school you attended, this beautiful community you lived in, and all of the help and support that you have received from your parents, family, friends, teachers and community,” Arbabi said. “Embrace the challenges that lie ahead with the same determination and resilience that brought you here today, and you will do amazing things. We will miss you.”