Эпизод 89: Старшеклассники AVID в школах Прово и Тимпвью

16 мая, 2025 /
Спенсер Туиней /

Суп с супом

Episode 89: AVID Seniors at Provo & Timpview High

00:00 / 58:15

Wendy Dau: Welcome everyone to the next episode of Provo City School District’s What’s up with the Sup podcast. I am superintendent Wendy Dau, and this week I chatted with Provo High and Timpview High school students that are involved in our AVID classes, which stands for Advancement via Individual Determination.

AVID is a national program designed to help students and the students shared their post-grad plans, remembered their favorite memories and school related regrets, called out their favorite teachers, and offered advice for upcoming students. But first, here are our updates.

The last day of school is Wednesday, May 21st. Congratulations to all of our graduating seniors. We are so proud of you and all you have accomplished. We wish each of you the very best as you step into this exciting new chapter to all our students, staff, and families. Thank you for a great year. It is hard to believe that it is already over, but have a fun, safe, and restful summer.
На сайте нашего округа можно ознакомиться с рядом политик и процедур.
- Зайдите на сайт provo.edu.
- Нажмите на "Политика, формы и документы".
- You can click on Review Draft policies here.
The next school board meeting is on Tuesday, May 27th.
- Please check the district website prior to the meeting to see exact times and the full agenda this summer.
- We will continue with our weekly podcast, so stay tuned.
I will continue with my weekly video cast through the month of June, and then I will start them up again in August.
- Watch your email or my social media– Superintendent Dau, S-U-P-T-D-A-U– for my video cast.
  - Superintendent Dau’s Instagram

А теперь перейдем к нашему эпизоду.

Okay. So tell us your name.

Johanna: My name’s Johanna.

Wendy Dau: And how long have you been a student here at Provo High School?

Johanna: For the four years. That’s four years.

Wendy Dau: Awesome. What are some of your favoritest memories about Provo High School?

Johanna: My favoritest memories in school have been going with my extracurricular places.

Like for example, with orchestra, we used to go around and play for other schools. We call it travel group. We went to go play for elementary schools, which was really fun. And for AVID. ,My favorite memories were going to colleges and getting to know the campus.

Wendy Dau: That’s awesome. What instrument do you play?

Johanna: I play the violin.

Wendy Dau: Awesome. Tell us a little bit more about these college visits. What are your plans after high school?

Johanna: My plans after high school are just to go to college.

Wendy Dau: Have you decided where you’re going yet?

Johanna: I used to think that I was ready, but then came January of this year and I was like, actually, I’m not even ready at all, but I plan to go to UVU and attend the fall semester.

Венди Дау: Потрясающе.

Johanna: My favorite thing about the campus tours were that like, just like see what every student sees. We’re not like, okay, this is like the big gym or what not. It’s like, oh, this is where students walk through, or like, oh, this is the classroom and stuff. So it, it was, it felt really personal rather than just like some random tour with a little flag.

Wendy Dau: So. That’s awesome. Tell us a little bit about maybe some advice that you would give to incoming freshmen.

Johanna: Talk to your teachers, talk to everyone. It’s best to have like people, you know, than just to be alone.

Wendy Dau: That’s great advice. What has been like the key to your success in high school? If you could share that, like what has really helped you get through these four years of high school?

Johanna: My key was always just to talk.

I’m a big talker. Everybody in here will tell you that. Everyone is nodding, by the way. No, I’m curious. Everybody. Everybody. Even if you’re not doing physically, I know you’re nodding in your head. But I’m a big talker and I love talking to people. I love getting to know my teachers.

I love getting to know the people that I sit around with. I love to get to know everybody, and that has really helped me because it has made me get connections. I participate a lot, like raise my hand at basically every single question.

Even if I don’t know the question, I like to talk. And that really just shows my teachers that I’m present and that I’m listening.

Wendy Dau: That’s awesome. Anything else you would like to share?

Johanna: Join AVID. AVID is really fun. It will really help you. Honestly, AVID has really, really helped me. Even if it looks like a boring college class, it’s really, it’s really fun, especially with the people that you get to know. Not everybody will be like straight A’s or things like that. A lot of people, you will actually get to know what’s going on behind someone’s mind, because you grow with them for the four years that you’re with them, and so they get to be comfortable around you, and you get to be friends with them, and then you get to find out this person’s going, what I’m going through and you’re not ever gonna feel alone, kind of creates a community.

Wendy Dau: That’s awesome. Thank you and congratulations. Thank you. All right. Who wants to go next? Everyone’s like, oh man. Okay, excellent. Tell us your name.

Sabrina: My name’s Sabrina.

Wendy Dau: Sabrina. Okay. And how long have you been a student at Provo High?

Johanna: I’ve also been a student for four years.

Wendy Dau: Okay, perfect. Tell us a little bit about what your favorite memories are that you’ve had here at Provo High School.

Sabrina: I think definitely all the friends you can make during high school, because you’re just going through classes. And at first, the friends I started out with in the beginning of high school have totally changed to like now. You’re just gonna make so many new friends and you’re gonna just meet so many new people.

And it’s always exciting ’cause everyone’s so different.

Wendy Dau: So it’s okay if you’re going into high school, and maybe you don’t know a lot of people. Don’t stress about it because you’re gonna get to know people as you go through it. That’s kind of your advice there. Yeah.

Sabrina: Yeah, because especially since at the beginning of high school, people knew each other in middle school, but we changed a lot.

Throughout these four years. And so you start to develop your own interests and you start doing different activities, you get to meet people that have the same interests as you and so you can just grow closer relationships with people that are more like you.

Wendy Dau: That’s awesome. What have been the activities that you have enjoyed the most here at Provo High School?

Sabrina: I love the football games. Those are always so fun. Super fun. And the dress up days are fun too because you can see the people that dress up, the people that commit are always so fun to see.

Wendy Dau: That’s great. What advice would you give to incoming freshmen?

Sabrina: I would definitely say start early. Because the beginning of high school, I wrote a whole paper on this, but the beginning of high school is the most crucial time to start planning what you’re gonna do for the next four years.

Because the classes you take in high school are gonna affect what your future holds. ’cause if you wanna go to college, then you’re gonna want maybe scholarships if you’re having hard times financially. And so you’re gonna have to take classes that you know you can get good grades in and you have to like start studying early for specific tests like the A CT and the SAT.

Those things affect scholarships in college so much. And if you wanna save some money, take CE classes, DE classes, AP classes, because those in the long run are gonna help you out so much. Or like if you want get your generals, I always recommend getting your generals in high school, or your Associates too.

So, yeah, that’s my advice.

Wendy Dau: That’s great. And how has AVID helped you with that process?

Sabrina: Gosh, AVID has helped so much ’cause I’ve had to take some hard classes, and in AVID we learned how to take notes, and we’ve learned how to have a support system of students that– maybe we don’t all have like the best grades, but we all try.

And I think that’s more important because we’re putting in the effort to try and be the best that we can. And so AVID’s brought a support group of people like that.

Wendy Dau: And those are the skills really, that you wanna take with you into a career or into college is like you’re willing to follow through and work hard and do what it takes–

Sabrina: yeah.

Wendy Dau: To be successful, right? Yes. You don’t always learn. Yeah, exactly. What else would you like to share with us about your experience in high school? Or maybe what are your plans after high school? What do you wanna do?

Sabrina: My plans after I’m gonna go to USU–

Венди Дау: Хорошо.

Sabrina: And I’m gonna study interior design.

Wendy Dau: Nice.

Sabrina: And then maybe come back to college and maybe do law or something. I dunno.

Wendy Dau: That sounds awesome. Okay, so she, you’re gonna go to Utah State, you’re gonna live up there on campus. Have you got all of that set up already or are you still working on all of those pieces?

Sabrina: I’m doing classes today actually.

And then, then housing. I still have to look into ’em a little behind on that.

Wendy Dau: Yeah, that’s okay. You’re, you know, you’re not, it’s only, it’s it’s May tomorrow. So it’s today it’s still April. Just started. And then you’re still starting and see she started to panic. Sorry, it’s already flipping May! What? You graduate in like 20 days.

21 days. Have you counted, are you counting down? Do you have– how many days?

Johanna: So 14 days until the seniors stop going to school, and then 21 days until we graduate.

Wendy Dau: Oh wow. This is like, this is for realsies– this is happening. Yeah. Okay. What other things would you want to share about your experience at Provo High? Or anything that you want people to know about how great Provo High has been, or how great it is to be in high school?

Sabrina: I think high school’s great. ’cause you grow a lot as a person. I’m not the same person that I was freshman year. I’d say way better freshman year me. Just be willing to change and grow.

Wendy Dau: I love that. That’s so great. Thank you so much.

Sabrina: Of course. Thank you.

Wendy Dau: Okay. Tell us your name.

Zach: I’m Zach.

Wendy Dau: Hi Zach. And how long have you been a student at Provo High?

Zach: All four years.

Wendy Dau: Yes. Okay. Tell us a little bit about maybe your favoritest memories being here at Provo High.

Zach: Oof.

Wendy Dau: Favoritest memories that are like legal for you to tell. Like, there’s probably some favoritest memories that we probably don’t want on a podcast.

So– so you know, stuff that would be appropriate for a podcast?

Zach: Probably. I do theater.

Wendy Dau: Okay, wonderful.

Zach: Yeah, so probably just doing the shows, just like in the rehearsal process, meeting friends and stuff.

Wendy Dau: What has been one of your favorite shows that you’ve done?

Zach: Ooh, probably Romeo and Juliet, we just did.

Okay. Yes. And what role did you play in Romeo and Juliet?

I played Tybalt.

Wendy Dau: Oh, Tybalt.

Oh, that’s pretty great. Okay. What is it about being involved in something like that that’s so spectacular? ’cause I think sometimes incoming kids are like, eh, whatever. And it’s like, no, you don’t understand.

Like, this is a big deal. So talk a little bit more about that and, and why that’s so important to your success in high school.

Zach: A hundred percent. I was one of those kids that like, ah, what’s the big deal freshman year? I don’t know how to explain it. It’s a really big commitment– but that everyone that’s involved is equally committed. It creates like an instant community and if you struggle making friends, it is so much easier if you’re doing a show.

Wendy Dau: So it’s about finding that community. You’re all dedicated to something, right?

Zach: Yeah.

Wendy Dau: So you’re also recognizing that you have to show up because other people are exactly counting on you. Right? So that’s kind of a big deal. You’re in AVID. So tell us a little bit about how AVID has helped you.

Zach: Yeah, I started last year, junior year.

And the ACT was definitely a kind of a big giant mountain that I was not looking forward to, but even though it was, it was not easy. It was tough. I probably took the test probably about three times, two real times and one a practice test and I ended up getting a 30.

Wendy Dau: That’s amazing. Holy crap. That’s incredible.

Zach: Really, really helped for college applications.

Wendy Dau: Okay, good. So like, invaluable for that. And so AVID kind of helped you understand how important that test was and prepared you for it.

Zach: Yeah. I was like, this is serious stuff, right?

Wendy Dau: Yeah. Okay. Tell us a little bit about your plans after high school. Ooh, I’d like to tell myself about those.

You’re like, somebody needs to inform me. Somebody should tell me.

Zach: I’ve decided I’m gonna go to SUU. In the fall. I mean, we’ll see what I end up studying. I’ve been planning on trying out film. Like screenwriting and directing and cinematography, that kind of stuff. But I mean, ultimately still kinda a mystery.

Wendy Dau: Okay. So you’re still gonna figure it out and that’s okay. What drew you to SUU in particular?

Zach: We went there for a Shakespeare competition. For theater. So I got to see at the campus. I got a full tuition scholarship there.

Венди Дау: Хорошо.

Zach: So I was like, oh yeah, like, why not? And it’s not super far away, but as far enough away to not still be living at home.

Wendy Dau: And they have good arts programs and if that’s what you’re interested in, you definitely have picked a great institution to go to. What advice would you give to incoming freshmen?

Zach: Hmm. I would definitely say put yourself out there. I kind of just really valued my free time and dwindled it.

I did everything I could to get out of being in clubs and and just extracurriculars in general. Even I was even given advice to be like, just join clubs your freshman year. I was like, no, you’re lying. That’s not real. You’re lying. That’s not real. And then I started doing stuff my sophomore year and I really regretted kind of coasting my freshman year just not really doing anything. Got my homework done, but I didn’t really do anything else. I just kind of went home. I watched TV and just had a just kind of boring freshman year.

Wendy Dau: So you didn’t– so you didn’t have that in-person, community, everything might have been like–

Zach: I mean it was fresh off the heels of COVID, I guess.

Wendy Dau: Yeah. So that’s a little rough.

Zach: So I was like, I don’t really wanna know anyone. I was like, oh, but I kind of want to know everyone.

Wendy Dau: So get involved, connect, create a community. Even if it kind of feels a little bit outside your comfort zone, freshman year is the year you can get away with the most stuff.

Zach: Kind of try everything. Like if you try a sport or try fine arts or try something, freshman year is the easiest year to get out of it and still, or stay into it so you can–

Wendy Dau: Experiment.

Experiment the process, figure it out, have the–

Zach: These consequences for not continuing.

Wendy Dau: Okay. That’s really good advice. Okay. What do you think that Provo High has done to contribute to your overall education?

Zach: I think the AP classes specifically has kind of taught me how to learn and, oh, I don’t know how to explain this very well, but just kind of– instead of just learning about a subject, it’s a learning about how to learn about a subject, how to take notes, how to actually absorb the information.

And I feel like that’s more invaluable than just trigonometry. So whatever. But I mean, I can know how to learn stuff the rest of my life.

Wendy Dau: But you’re learning about how to learn stuff, so you’re learning some skills and you also are learning what works for you. Yeah, yeah, yeah, because that’s kind of important too.

’cause how you learn is different from how somebody else learns and you kind of can figure that out. That’s awesome. Thank you for answering these questions. Okay. First off, tell us how long have you been a student at Provo High?

Unnamed Provo High Student: Four years.

Wendy Dau: Okay. Alright. We got, how many of you have been here all four years?

Several of you. Okay. That’s awesome. Okay.

Tell us a little bit about maybe your plans after high school.

Unnamed Provo High Student: I am going to start here in UVU, so I have to– I still have to sign up for classes, but I have gotten admitted, so that’s one step.

Венди Дау: Это хорошо.

Unnamed Provo High Student: And then whether or not I stay here– I’m gonna do my generals and then I might look at transferring to either USU or U of U.

Wendy Dau: Okay. Do you have an area of interest yet, or are you just like gonna kind of explore stuff right now?

Unnamed Provo High Student: At least I want to try going into elementary or early education.

Plus I just needed one person that was gonna do that.

Wendy Dau: And you come back here and work and you’re like, I don’t wanna work in pro, but you should. It’s awesome here.

Unnamed Provo High Student: I don’t wanna work in Provo!

Wendy Dau: Oh, don’t say that.

Unnamed Provo High Student: I wanna work in a small town. Oh, a small town.

Wendy Dau: Yeah. Okay. All right.

Unnamed Provo High Student: I, I grew– grew up that grew a small town, and it was a lot like the elementary schools were like, they they impact you a lot.

Wendy Dau: Yes, that’s very true. So you wanna have that same impact. So it sounds like you have some really good memories from that. And so you wanna like recreate that or be part of that. So where did you grow up? Do you mind if I ask you that?

Unnamed Provo High Student: Kind of everywhere. I moved a lot as a kid.

I’m from Montana and then I came down, went to Santaquin. And when I lived there is a lot smaller than it is even now.

Wendy Dau: Yeah. It’s grown a ton. Yeah, it’s not really a small town anymore. Right. Yeah, yeah. No, that’s awesome. So you wanna go to UVU, get your generals, then go somewhere else.

What advice would you give to incoming ninth graders?

Unnamed Provo High Student: One thing is like don’t be scared of like judgment. Because I feel like for me, I had like a friend, we were very outgoing and very like different. We liked to dress up and be fun and we got a lot of judgment.

And it was hard, but I think it was way more worth it than trying to fit in and trying to be someone you’re not because at the end of the day, like who cares? It’s just high school,–

Wendy Dau: Just be who you are.

Unnamed Provo High Student: Yeah. It doesn’t matter what these people think. And then another big one for me is don’t slack off your freshman and sophomore year, like go to these classes.

Which is true for me. Like I started working when I was 15 and I was doing all these classes, and I didn’t have any fun. Like I had no friends, no time for anyone or anything. And I regret that a lot. Like, my senior year, like I’m realizing I want to have this fun and work and, and I don’t know how to do that because I spent all my time working and doing school.

So it’s really important to find a balance.

Wendy Dau: I love that word balance. Yeah, I was just thinking about that as you were talking about that. Because that’s what’s gonna happen as you get out of high school, right? You’re gonna have to work. You’re gonna be going to school, but you also need to like, it can’t be, yeah, you need to live, right?

Like you– you do need to take care of yourself and make sure that you enjoy life as well. So that’s important. What has been, like, how has AVID helped you?

Unnamed Provo High Student: Okay, so AVID and I’m, I’m sure that Provo High in general has actually helped a lot with this, but AVID, especially with the college, and like, being ready for college.

I didn’t realize this until this year, how helpful it’d been. Because my friend from another school, she was texting me and talking to me, and she’s asking me like all these questions, like, what is it? What’s it gonna be like, how do you do this? And all these questions about college.

And I just felt like it was common knowledge. Oh, how do your classes work? How do you, can you work and can you see people? And I was like, well. You kind of–

Wendy Dau: Duh.

Unnamed Provo High Student: Like duh. I never realized how well this school taught me about how to be ready for college, and how to go into it because AVID has, it helped me get prepared for scholarships and all these other things.

But we also have talked to a lot of college students who have come in and told us what college life is like and how to balance that stuff. And even the school, and not in AVID classes, we have people come in and talk to us about all the college classes and like how to get into those and the benefits you can get and all that kind of stuff, which was really helpful for me.

Wendy Dau: That’s great. I’m so glad to hear that. Any last parting words you wanna share? Any advice or–?

Unnamed Provo High Student: Not everyone has to like you.

Wendy Dau: Good. That’s good advice actually. Be who you are and not everyone has to like you. Just make sure you’re genuine with, and feel good about what you are showing to the world.

Love it. All right, next. Here we go. Tell us your name. I’m so excited.

Joe: My name’s Giovanni. Just go by Joe here.

Wendy Dau: Okay. So Joe, you’ve been here four years. Okay. And tell us a little bit about kind of your experience. What are your favorite moments legal for you to tell us about? Yeah. Awesome. Let’s keep it appropriate.

Joe: Let’s see. My favoritest moments have been– I’ve enjoyed going to all my classes due to the fact that I’ve always been a person that enjoys conversation as well. And I love conversating with my teachers personally. I love talking to who is educating me because they also have a story. And I feel like at first, like starting freshman year, I was scared of the people around me, but I know that my teacher was teaching all the people around me and for some reason.

Throughout all my grades, I’ve been able to talk to my teacher ’cause they’ve been the easiest person to talk to. And I enjoy conversating with teachers.

Wendy Dau: That’s awesome. That makes me so happy. I hope all of our teachers are listening to this. ’cause you guys are giving some pretty good shout outs to your teachers, so that’s awesome.

What what are your plans after high school?

Joe: I am still figuring things out– yeah. But right now, the thing that I’m trying to work on the most is I am trying to go to UVU for two years and build up some money and like, finish my generals there. And considering going up to USU for four years.

Wendy Dau: Okay. Do you know what you wanna study?

Joe: It’s been back and forth.

Венди Дау: Все в порядке.

Joe: But I love the idea of a little bit of business and the idea of education has been growing a lot.

Wendy Dau: Oh, you’re doing a good job of creating these future educators. I’m very impressed. Tell us a little bit about how AVID’s helped you in this process.

Joe: I think AVID has helped me a lot due to the fact that I’ve actually been here for five years. I started in middle school. And it’s been a great thing due to the fact that it’s a place that I have the same teacher, so that means I get to conversate with the teacher. And the students throughout the years have been the same.

So I’ve been able to build a lot of friends in there in general. I know these faces, they’re all familiar faces, and the teacher feels like a safe place. And going to high school, even throughout the later years, there’s people around me that I know that I’ve known for a while these past four years, and they’re the closest people to me.

Wendy Dau: So it creates that sense of community for sure. And you’re seeing ’em in other classes too, because you’re taking probably some similar classes outside of that. What advice would you give to an incoming freshman?

Joe: My advice would be do what you like still. I got lucky that I picked, I found out early about Concurrent Enrollment classes, and there’s some of those classes that I personally like, but when I came into high school, I thought the only thing I’m working towards is college and my future life.

And so I was really focused on building my higher education, but I never focused on the classes that maybe would give me the most joy or the most happy experience. So there’s some classes that I still wish I could have taken and started earlier and now I missed that chance.

Wendy Dau: So a balance between, I wanna prepare myself for college, but I also need to pursue some things that I’m interested in. And enjoy those pieces. That’s really good advice. I love that.

Okay, you’re talking to the Superintendent here. So if there was something that we could change about high school and you’re like, you need to fix this, what would it be? Help I help. Or, if somebody like you guys need to think about that, like what are some things that you would say, you need to fix this.

Joe: Oh, start time. Yeah, start time. I’ve heard about other high schools around the country. Nobody starts at 7:30 is a ridiculous time to start.

Wendy Dau: We do start way too early. It’s so true.

Joe: But I do appreciate that we like, I suppose, leave a little earlier, but I don’t know, even like 7:45 to eight o’clock that’s better than 7:30.

Wendy Dau: Just the extra 15 minutes or a half an hour. Okay, I’m gonna take that back. ’cause I feel that way too. I totally get that. All right. Anybody– does anybody else have anything? So start time would be one thing. Thank you so much.

Unnamed Provo High Student: When we first get into high school, it’s like you don’t really know, you don’t really have that much of a plan. ’cause like you were just in middle school and it just like, it’s all so new.

And in order to like ask the right questions, you have to know what you have to ask. So when I first came into high school, I was like thinking about getting my associates, but when I got in, everybody was telling me it was like kind of hard and I’d have to sacrifice a lot of social time or like, like my social life.

And so I was like, okay, well whatever. I just won’t do it, then I’ll just like get what I can. And it just like took some time and a lot of questions that eventually led to me learning about generals. And so that’s like an amazing option. Yep. And it’s like totally doable and you’re like, don’t really miss out on anything.

And. It was kind of hard to get there though, like to learn about it. So I’d like it if like every counselor, when you first meet them, they like lay out every option you have. ’cause lots of students don’t know about like generals or associates and they also don’t know about what having good grades really means until it’s too late.

So I think just having the counselors be like crystal clear with like everything laid out, just constantly reminding– maybe like, we don’t understand it at first, but as time goes on, at least throughout freshman year we’ll get it more. But I think being more crystal clear about that.

Wendy Dau: That’s great. I’ve heard that from lots of students, so I appreciate that feedback.

Unnamed Provo High Student 2: This is from a personal experience. But I had an issue with not giving me credits that I needed to graduate. That left me this semester having to cram an online class that I could have taken in the school. But because the classes were full.

I couldn’t take it on campus even though I had like three open periods, so I had to take it online.

I would be willing to sit on the floor, like if there’s not enough chairs for me, like I’ll just stand, I still want to get that credit. Right. So maybe like shifting that issue and like trying to figure out more solutions than just forcing kids to take classes online because I really struggle with online classes.

And like learning, from a textbook is like the worst thing for me.

Wendy Dau: That’s awesome. And I didn’t feel like that was harsh feedback at all.

That’s super helpful. So thank you. Harsh feedback would’ve been like, fire this person. Like, you didn’t say that. So.

Do you have any teachers you would like to give a shout out to? It’s Teacher Appreciation Week next week. You have a bunch. Oh yes. Back here. Here we go. Okay.

Unnamed Provo High Student 3: Shout out to all my social studies teachers and Ms. Smedley. So basically– Mr. Sauerbier, Mrs. Sauerbier, Mr. Ellison, Ms. Shelburne, Mr. Aulava, they’re all so great. It might be because I just really like history and social studies, but I–

Wendy Dau: Oh, you’re a girl after my own heart. Yes. Good job.

Unnamed Provo High Student 3: They’re all so nice and they teach it in such a fun and engaging way.

And then with Ms. Smedley, she’s just so sweet. I love her so much. She’s so awesome.

Wendy Dau: That’s awesome. Thank you.

Unnamed Provo High Student 4: Okay, I wanna shout out Mrs. Brown. She came back to school and honestly, she’s like one of the best teachers I’ve ever had.

Wendy Dau: What does she teach for the first time?

Unnamed Provo High Student 4: She teaches English.

Wendy Dau: Oh, okay. Great.

Unnamed Provo High Student 4: She used to be the principal at Provo High School, long, long time ago.

Wendy Dau: Oh, yeah!

Unnamed Provo High Student 4: But now she came back as an English teacher, and I adore her so much. Like I adore every single one of my teachers that I’ve ever had, like Mr. Hernandez, Ms. Dubs,

Wendy Dau: but definitely– but definitely Ms. Brown.

Unnamed Provo High Student 4: But Mrs. Brown, I just love. Her attitude. Like every single day she’s all like, she has just this really fun personality. Like, I love the way that she used to talk. Like she’s trying to understand Gen Z Lane. And so there’s this one time where she was applauding one of the kids, ’cause he put on one of his assignments that he should get 50 outta 50 ’cause he’s perfect.

And she saw like, oh, he rizzing. And we all just started laughing because I, that’s not how I use that word. And so she’s like, wait guys, what word am I supposed to use? And so we all start teaching her and she’s just this really fun, open person. I love her so much.

Wendy Dau: That’s awesome. You had?

Unnamed Provo High Student: I wanna shout out Mr. Bauer and Mr. Wiser. I am a performing arts person, so my drama teacher, my choir teacher, Mr. Bauer, is so fun. And he just does, like, his class is so fun to be in.

And Mr. Wiser has taught me more than I think any teacher, even though I wasn’t like learning anything. About like core classes or anything, just like, how much he’s helped me grow as a singer, and like being able to be in a community like a choir and learn how to work with people.

And he has so much passion for his art and it’s super inspiring. And I’ll never forget Mr. Rise or Mr. Bauer.

Венди Дау: Это потрясающе.

Unnamed Provo High Student: Okay, so I wanna shout out my French teacher, Madame LeBras. She literally puts in so much effort, like if there’s ever like opportunities to like learn about the French community, or like the Apple testing has been going on, and she has been helping me like be able to apply to it, especially since it was like kind of complicated, and there’s like certain dates that were just like really confusing. And so she was just helping me out and putting in so much effort and she just goes above and beyond to help students out.

And then I also wanted to shout out Lauren and McKayla down in the College and Career Center because they have been helping me so much throughout like the college process. I can go down to them at any time and they’re gonna be there to help me out and it’s just made the process so much less stressful.

Wendy Dau: Okay. So start by telling us your name.

Sosaia Hifo: My name is Sosaia Hifo.

Wendy Dau: And you are here at Timpview High School. How long have you been at Timpview?

Sosaia Hifo: I’ve only been here for a year. I used to go to Provo. I was there for three years.

Wendy Dau: Okay, perfect. Tell us a little bit about what has been awesome about your high school experience.

Sosaia Hifo: I think what’s been like the most awesome for me in the high school is just the relationships I’ve been able to create. Like all the people I’ve been able to meet and just the whole high school experience. All the friendships and all the things I’ve been able to do have just been a great time, I guess.

Wendy Dau: That’s good. What has prepared you the most in high school for what’s gonna happen after high school?

Sosaia Hifo: I definitely think, the classes I’ve been able to take, they’ve definitely taught me a lot about like what I wanna do in the future, what I could possibly do in the future, and kind of given me like a path, like a direction that I want to go in.

I haven’t always been like the most worried about the future, but I think this year, especially the, like the course I’ve been able to take, I’ve been able to learn a lot about the direction I wanna go in, and what I want to do in the future.

Wendy Dau: That’s awesome. What are your plans after high school?

Sosaia Hifo: So first, I want to serve a mission for my church, and then after that, I’m still wondering if I want to play football or not. ’cause I do play football, but I’m still wondering if I wanna play football after high school. I do plan on going to Snow College after a mission.

Wendy Dau: Do you know what you wanna, study– what your ultimate end goal is and what you wanna study or go into?

Or are you just keeping your options open?

Sosaia Hifo: Right now I’m just keeping my options open. I’m not too sure, but I do know that I wanna serve a mission and like then go from there.

Wendy Dau: That’s awesome. What advice would you give to freshmen coming into high school? Like what do you feel like you’re like, man, I wish I had known that when I was a ninth grader coming in for freshmen coming in.

Sosaia Hifo: I think the biggest thing that’s gonna help you out in high school is to make sure you go to class.

Wendy Dau: That’s a, that’s a good tip. I like it. Yeah.

Sosaia Hifo: Yeah. It’s — I feel like high school for me wasn’t too hard, but it was only because of the fact that I was at class a lot. I feel like there’s a lot of people that they tend to miss class or they tend to skip class.

And it’s kind of like high school’s hard if you make it hard. That’s what I feel like. I feel like, you know, the teachers are there to help you. The admin is there to help you. Like you have a lot of help. And if you don’t reach out for help, then you might struggle. And if you miss a lot of class, you might struggle.

Like, it just, it gets a lot to make up. So I feel like the biggest thing for all the kids coming to high school is just make sure you get to class and have your priorities straight. ’cause if you don’t, it’s gonna be hard to get back into where you’re supposed to be.

Wendy Dau: That’s exactly right. That’s very good advice.

What do you think about in terms of like the communities that you built, because you’re probably part of a football community and you’re in AVID, and I’m gonna ask you some more questions about AVID here in just a minute– but how does that make a difference for you in a high school experience versus– I just go to high school, I go to class and I don’t have connections.

Like, I feel like one of the themes I’m hearing from high school students that have had a successful experience is they feel like they have a community and a group of friends and maybe you could speak to that a little bit.

Sosaia Hifo: Yeah, I think the community aspect of high school is very important, especially for me. ‘Cause one of the big reasons I came to Timpview from Provo was because of the fact that I knew a lot of people here, a lot of the people that go to Timpview, I grew up with them, and like, you know, grew up hanging out with them in the neighborhood, riding bikes and stuff.

That was one of the biggest things for me coming to Timpview was the community aspect that they have here. I knew everyone here and just like all of the– the fun that it– that it creates because it’s not just like, go to school and like I go home, I go to school and I hang out with my friends and I’m able to like talk and laugh.

And I feel like that just makes it a lot better experience ’cause it creates a, like an environment that I want to be in. Instead of just, oh man, I have to go to school, you know?

Wendy Dau: Right. Tell me a little bit about AVID and how that has impacted you or helped you.

Sosaia Hifo: Yeah, so like I said before, I wasn’t always too worried about my future. I’m the kind of person that just kind of goes with the flow. And, but I think this year, especially because this is my first year taking AVID, I didn’t take it any year before. This year especially, I was able to learn a lot about where I want to be.

And you know, Mrs. T, she’s always been on me about like, you know, what school do you want to go to and what do you wanna do after high school? And that’s kinda when I really first realized like, dang, like I really didn’t think about it. Like I didn’t really think about my plans, you know? And I think it’s just been super important because like after graduation, you know, like there’s a whole world in front of me and I gotta be prepared for it.

So I think AVID has just really helped me realize the importance of preparation and the importance of just knowing what, what I wanna do after high school and it’s like given me a lot of different directions, a lot of different paths. And, for example, all the scholarships that we’ve been able to apply for a lot of different options and more places to go and just walked you through and provided that to support.

Wendy Dau: Yeah. That maybe somebody else might not have. Yeah. Because you have that. Do you have teachers or coaches that you would love to give a shout out to since your graduating?

Sosaia Hifo: Definitely. Mrs. T right here. She’s– yeah. She’s been awesome this year and she’s not just for me, but for everyone here.

She’s been basically, I, I honestly think the best teacher like that I’ve ever had in my high school, like career. ’cause she’s helped me a lot. Just being prepared and trying to find what my next step is. And I think, and she’s just a, she’s a helpful person. That’s just who, who she is. And I just can’t thank her enough for like what she’s been doing for me and also just for what she’s been able to do for everyone.

Wendy Dau: That’s awesome. Thank you. All right. Who wants to be next? You did great. Oh wow. Good job. You are ready to roll. Okay. So tell us your name and what high school you go to.

Desmond Davis: My name is Desmond Davis and I go to Timpview High School.

Wendy Dau: Excellent. How long have you been at Timpview?

Desmond Davis: Pretty much like everything for like all four years.

Wendy Dau: All four years? Yeah. That’s awesome. Okay. And so tell me what maybe some of your favoritest moments have been of Timpview High.

Desmond Davis: Just making new friends here.

Wendy Dau: Oh, good. What helps you at Timpview High School? What types of groups are you part of? I mean, you’re in this class, which is an AVID class. Talk to me a little bit about that. Why has AVID been such a great class for you?

Desmond Davis: I just feel like the teachers here are like pretty supportive of me. And they usually help me whenever they can, so it’s nice that whenever I’m like stuck on something, they’re always there. They got my back.

Wendy Dau: That’s awesome. Do you have a a couple of teachers you’d like to give a shout out to?

Desmond Davis: Obviously Ms. T, because– obviously it has to be Ms. T ’cause she’s been so nice to me and she’s been like helping us with like everything. Like what’s life’s gonna be like after high school. She’s been like talking to us about that or what calls life is gonna be like. Same thing applies to Cecilee Karns. They’re kinda like guide you of where you want to go in life and that’s what I appreciate about them.

Wendy Dau: That’s awesome. Tell me a little bit about what your plans are after high school.

Desmond Davis: So I’m kind of like in the middle right now. I’m still thinking about it. I’ve still got time to decide. Yeah, I might go like full-time at my job so I can earn a little more money or I could probably go to MTech and learn Digital Design.

But other than that, I kind of like have a passion for making music recently. ’cause I got a bass guitar recently and my friend comes over and we just like like to jam out and we learn songs and we make riffs. So I. Yeah, that would be cool.

Wendy Dau: That’s pretty cool. That is very cool.

Desmond Davis: So probably over the summer we plan on making songs.

Wendy Dau: Oh, that sounds awesome. Yeah. What advice would you give to an incoming ninth grader?

Desmond Davis: Try to like focus on your work. ’cause the workload is gonna like, hit you like a truck. So you just like– you just like have to be aware of like, when everything’s due, and so you don’t suffer any horrible grades or anything like that.

Wendy Dau: So you kinda have to be pretty organized. Yeah. But you feel like your teachers are super helpful.

Desmond Davis: Yeah, of course.

Wendy Dau: They’re pretty awesome, aren’t they?

Desmond Davis: Yeah.

Wendy Dau: They’re so lucky to have such good teachers. Anything else you wanna share?

Desmond Davis: I feel like one of the things I enjoy about school is probably meeting up with my friends. And it’s probably through experience that I’ve learned that there’s good friends and bad friends. So just like , it’s–, it’s like a big, like learning journey. But other than that, I also like how nice my teachers are and how helpful they can be.

Also, my counselors if I ever need to talk to them.

And even the principal, ’cause she is super nice to me. She’s pretty awesome.

Wendy Dau: Yeah. Yeah. So it’s a learning journey. I love that quote. I’m gonna, I’m gonna remember that for a long time. Thank you. And congratulations. Thank you. All right. Who’s next?

Tupou Tua’one: They’re a duo. They’ve been best friends since freshman.

Wendy Dau: So you guys are gonna kind of partner through this, through this interview.

Okay. Gotcha. Tell us your names.

Helen: I’m Helen.

Jasmine: I’m Jasmine.

Wendy Dau: And you’re both students here at Timpview?

Helen: Yeah. Yes.

Wendy Dau: And tell me how long you’ve been students here at Timpview for all four years. Yeah. Awesome. Okay. So what has been the best part about Timpview High School?

Helen: I think having friends, like having classes with friends and everything.

I love it. It’s been a big–

Wendy Dau: Obviously you guys are friends and so I’m guessing you hang out a lot together.

Helen: Yeah.

Wendy Dau: What types of groups are you involved with? Do you have extracurricular activities? Is AVID like your community? What, what has made a difference for you here at the high school? I don’t really do any extracurriculars.

Helen: Just AVID. I love AVID. Like, that’s all I do.

Jasmine: Me too.

Wendy Dau: So AVID is like, this is your community and this has helped you a ton. Okay. So tell us a little bit more about that. Like what has AVID done for you to to help you as you’re planning for after high school?

Jasmine: Okay. So we’ve both been in it since freshman year.

And like, it’s so helpful ’cause it helps you like schedule like your time and manage like everything. And if you have homework, like she makes sure she makes sure you like, you do it and you turn it in on time. And that’s really helpful for like college. ’cause in college it’s more strict. So you need to be like more on like task and stuff and you really have to plan your schedule.

Wendy Dau: Yeah. Like nobody’s watching over you to do that. Yeah. So you have to develop that skill ahead of time. Right. What about for you?

Helen: Yeah, just like being in this class, she helps you learn how to take notes and how to pay attention, stuff like that so you can focus and like turn your stuff in on time.

And then in here, she gives you time to work on your homework too.

Wendy Dau: Most of life is showing up and just doing stuff on time. Right? Like we don’t even realize how much that’s like a key to people’s success. What are your plans for after high school and I heard mention of maybe scholarships or things like that.

So I want, this is your chance to brag. Tell me all the cool things. Okay.

Jasmine: Okay. So I was originally planning to go to, either St. Mary’s or Westminster. And I got scholarships for both of them.

Wendy Dau: Nice.

Jasmine: But they’re both like private. Yeah. So they’re really expensive. Expensive, right. Yeah– so I still had to pay like 10 K either way.

But then I got the Point of the Mountain Scholarship, and that’s full ride. And that’s here in Utah in Salt Lake. ’cause I was like, might as well go there.

Wendy Dau: That’s perfect. Yay. Woo. Congratulations. And do you know what you wanna study yet?

Jasmine: Pre-nursing. Okay. Awesome. Yeah, I’m gonna do that. I’m gonna do that.

Wendy Dau: You wanna be a nurse?

Jasmine: Yeah. I’m more, more like pediatric nurse. Okay– and focus on that.

Wendy Dau: I don’t blame you. You don’t wanna deal with people my age. We’re cranky, so the little kids much better. Yeah, that’s way better. What about you?

Helen: I wanna become a dental hygienist, so I’m gonna do dental assisting and then I’m going to at MTech and then I’m gonna go to UVU and then do become a hygienist.

Wendy Dau: So MTech kind of provides that really awesome path where you can get started and then move over to UVU.

Helen: Yeah.

Wendy Dau: That’s great. Tha’s incredible. What classes do you feel like have really prepared you besides AVID even for your post high school experience or that you feel like this class has just like, changed my life?

Jasmine: Oh, yeah. CE Oh– oh yeah.

Wendy Dau: Tell us about that.

Jasmine: CE classes are so helpful because you get, like, you earn college credit while you’re in high school and it helps you so much, and you don’t have to do it like later on. And you save a lot of money as well.

Wendy Dau: You do save a lot of money.

Jasmine: So it’s very helpful and useful.

Wendy Dau: And you have teachers that like know you , and know your name, and so that makes a big difference. Right? In classes as well. And they want you to be successful in that. What are some of your favorite memories of Timpview?

Helen: Well, we just barely went a prom and it was so fun.

Jasmine: Oh, prom was so fun! It was so fun.

Wendy Dau: That’s awesome. It is a very memorable experience for sure.

What are some of your teachers that you would like to give a shout out to?

Helen: Mrs. T. Of course T she’s like so helpful. Amazing. Very nice. We both won a thousand dollars scholarship like a week ago because she made us apply to it. Yeah.

Wendy Dau: So she just sat down and said, you will apply to it.

Helen: Yeah. So we applied to it and then we got it.

Wendy Dau: I love it. And then you got a thousand bucks. That’s so great. Sometimes we just need that person to motivate us to do that, right? Mm-hmm. Anybody else?

Helen: Yes, Whatcott. Yeah. I love Whatcott.

Wendy Dau: And tell us what– and tell us what he teaches.

Jasmine: He teaches woods and construction and all that. We took all of those classes with him. He’s very nice and very helpful and it’s just like a nice class to have is really nice.

Wendy Dau: That’s awesome. And so it just seems like that might be a class that even that isn’t necessarily part of your career path, but it’s just something you’ve been able to explore and really enjoy.

Jasmine: Yeah. Yeah.

Wendy Dau: Yeah. Sounds awesome. That’s so great. Do you have any regrets about high school? Like things that you wish you had done that you didn’t do?

Jasmine: I wish I took more CE classes. Because I, okay– I knew about them, but I didn’t know, know about them. So I just wish I did that. I wish I knew like what I wanted to do earlier, so I could have done it like in my junior year or something.

’cause like at MTech, you could like go earlier.

Wendy Dau: Okay. So you could take the class and then like it’s paid for by like the school.

Helen: Yeah. So I wish I knew about that and I knew what I wanted to do.

Wendy Dau: So one of the things I’m hearing from seniors across our district is that you guys need to know stuff about that like way sooner.

So we can help you get introduced to that earlier rather than later. Okay. Anything else you wanna share? I’m so excited for you guys to graduate me. This is awesome.

Jasmine: I’m sad.

Wendy Dau: I love it. I kind of love that too though. But.

Helen: People in school, you should take a Driver’s Ed. Yeah.

Jasmine: Oh, get your license in school.

Get your license while you’re at school. Very easy and helpful.

Wendy Dau: Okay. Excellent. Gives you a little bit more independence, right?

Helen: Yeah. As soon as you turn 16. Don’t like, don’t procrast, don’t wait, do it.

Wendy Dau: Oh, that’s good advice. I’ve never even heard that. That’s awesome. Great advice. Perfect. Thank you so much. You guys are awesome.

All right. Tell us your name.

Aaron Bennett: I’m Aaron Bennett.

Wendy Dau: And what are some of your favorite memories of Timpview?

Aaron Bennett: Favorite memories is being in AVID with Ms. T. She’s one of my favorite teachers, ’cause

she helped me to get prepared for quizzes, and be on top of stuff. Just kind of building those skills of like time management, how to be organized. How to figure stuff out. And be organized. I don’t know if I’m going to college, but I’m thinking about it right now. I’m open to it. Also, I have been doing some sports.

I’ve been doing rodeo.

Венди Дау: О, очень круто.

Aaron Bennett: Been for six months now. It’s in my family. Like in the family line. Yeah. My dad did bull riding. Uncle did bareback riding. And so I’m doing those two and the one I like is bullriding right now.

Wendy Dau: Okay. Do you get thrown off the bull a lot?

Да.

Aaron Bennett: Oh, okay. Yeah, I would imagine so. It’s a little more rough than most football ’cause… Yes, I mean the coaches are pretty chill, but like rodeo? You don’t have a coach, because it’s either your family or your cousins, and yeah, it’s a little more scary.

Wendy Dau: I would, I would imagine. So tell me what advice would you give to incoming ninth graders?

Aaron Bennett: Don’t be afraid to ask for help through your counselors or teachers, or just other people in the class who have the same class as you, and see if they can help you out.

Wendy Dau: That’s awesome. Do you feel like people here at Timpview have been really helpful to you? Like, teachers wanna be helpful? Counselors wanna be helpful?

Aaron Bennett: Yes. Counselors and a couple teachers. The biggest one I really appreciate and I enjoy being in her class is Ms. T and AVID in general. Because I’ve been in freshman year and throughout 12th grade.

Wendy Dau: Tell me, are there other teachers that you’d like to give a shout out to?

Aaron Bennett: The welding teacher. Okay. Don’t remember his name, but he was– he was awesome. He taught me different techniques that I never knew about. He taught me, don’t be afraid of a spark, and don’t be scared. And don’t be like too far, don’t be too close to the middle of the material that you’re working with.

He always taught me be prepared and keep your materials clean so you can have a clean bead work and then clean up after you’re done.

Wendy Dau: And that’s gonna be a skill that you’re gonna appreciate that you have. Yeah. Oh, there you go. That’s awesome. Talk about how AVID has helped you specifically.

Aaron Bennett: I enjoy the going to college trips. The field trips as well. Like touring what colleges there are, and see which ones that you really want to go to, and see what other options that you have. Not just like the big community colleges or the universities. There’s of course MTech.

Wendy Dau: That’s great. Anybody else wanna go? Okay. Tell us your names. You’re both students at Timpview High School and Go ahead.

Cameron Pyrah: I’m Cameron Pyrah.

Tristan Mocke: I’m Tristan Mocke.

Wendy Dau: Hey, it’s so nice to meet you. So how long have you guys been here at Timpview? All four years? Both of you? All four years. Okay.

What are some of your favoritest memories that are actually shareable on a podcast that you have of Timpview High School?

Cameron Pyrah: Honestly, just like the, the relationships you build with your like peers and then your teachers as well.

Wendy Dau: That’s very cool. What about for you?

Tristan Mocke: Probably just like playing sports too. Like I played football and I played basketball, and they’re both just so fun to be a part of like, both of those communities.

And obviously they’re both really good at both sports, so it was, it was fun to be a part of both of them.

Wendy Dau: It’s kind of fun to be part of winning teams, right? Exactly. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. That’s kind of cool. Yeah, I get that. Tell me what your plans are after high school.

Cameron Pyrah: In the fall I’m attending the University of Utah.

Wendy Dau: This is my deep dark secret is that nobody can know this, but I love the University of Utah. You’re not supposed to in Provo, but I do. So what are you gonna study there? Do you know yet?

Cameron Pyrah: I’m gonna just keep my options like open right . So I’ll just go do like my generals and stuff.

Wendy Dau: Okay. We’ll see then kind of figure it out. Figure out what speaks to you. What about for you?

Tristan Mocke: I’m gonna serve a mission for the Church of, Jesus Christ in November. So I kind of have a little time, but I’m just gonna work and play rugby and that’s kind of it until my mission. And then when I come back I’m gonna go to BYU.

Wendy Dau: I’ll forgive you even though you’re going to– No, I’m just kidding. BYU is awesome and I did my undergrad at BYU. Do you know what you wanna study yet? Or you did? You’ve got a little time to figure this out.

Tristan Mocke: So, yeah, I have time, so I don’t really know yet, but I still kind of have time, which is good. So.

Wendy Dau: What have been your favorite classes in high school that you kind of gravitate towards?

Cameron Pyrah: I, AVID has been super helpful, obviously, but journalism as well.

Венди Дау: Хорошо.

Cameron Pyrah: I love journalism, so.

Wendy Dau: Oh, we might have a future reporter right here.

Cameron Pyrah: Yes, exactly.

Wendy Dau: That’s so great. That’s awesome. What about for you?

Tristan Mocke: AVID’s been really helpful.

And then I’ve, I took Med Anatomy last year. I enjoyed that a lot. It was hard, but it was really interesting. Oh yeah. And then I’m taking sea biology with the same teacher and she’s a great teacher. So I think both of those have helped me a lot and they’re actually really interesting.

So it’s been good.

Wendy Dau: That’s good. It makes such a difference when you have an awesome teacher, right? Like, that’s life changing. Tell me about how AVID has helped you specifically.

Cameron Pyrah: Definitely time management. Like Ms. T. gives us a calendar and has us plan out like test dates and like when all the assignments are due.

So like I get everything in on time and like

Wendy Dau: Wow. Just incredible. As adults, we need sometimes that help too.

So good job that you already have that skill. What about for you?

Tristan Mocke: For me, it’s been a lot of help with like, I. Knowing what I have to do in school. ’cause it’s kind of hard for me to plan outside of school ’cause I’m really busy with like sports.

‘Cause I play multiple sports and, and so being an AVID and having Ms T there to help me, like, okay, this is when your test is, this is when this assignment is due. And then she kind of helps you through it. Like, and then like gives you a guideline for those and it helps a lot. So.

Wendy Dau: That’s awesome. Yeah. That’s so great. What shout outs do you wanna give to teachers? I mean, you’re probably gonna give a shout out to Ms. T, but–

Cameron Pyrah: Yeah. Ms T of course. Yeah. But then also Mr. Chow.

Wendy Dau: Oh, Mr. Chow. Your journalism teacher.

Cameron Pyrah: Journalism and English my sophomore year as well. Awesome. Just really incredible teacher and person in general.

Wendy Dau: That’s great. I love hearing that. What about for you?

Tristan Mocke: Obviously Mrs. T, she’s been a big help, but I want to give a shout out to Mr. Ridge and and Mrs. Abbott. I’ve had both of them and they both like, like I hated science and I hated math, but both of them were good teachers and they helped me start to enjoy it.

And I had good grades in their classes, which, which was a good thing. So yeah, it was good.

Wendy Dau: Good grades and you enjoy it. And it’s math and science.

Tristan Mocke: Exactly. Yeah.

Wendy Dau: That’s called winning. That’s amazing.

Tristan Mocke: Rare combo. But it was good.

Wendy Dau: That’s so great. What advice would you give to a ninth grader that’s coming in?

Cameron Pyrah: I would say just like get out there, like be friends with everybody and just like go to all the sporting events too. ’cause those are fun and you’ll miss them eventually.

Wendy Dau: Yeah. So it’ll give you a connection to a community, right?

Cameron Pyrah: Yes, exactly. Yeah.

Wendy Dau: And it’s just a good, it’s just a fun energy, right? Like yes, it’s pretty great.

What about for you?

Tristan Mocke: For me, my two main things are don’t procrastinate. ’cause I procrastinate a lot my freshman and sophomore year and it didn’t work out well for me. But so just getting your work done and then like, just trying new things like I hadn’t played football and then my senior year I decided to go play and it was a ton of fun and I like.

Hadn’t played basketball. I played in my freshman and sophomore year, and it was– it was a ton of fun. Like, I don’t regret either of those at all. So just trying new things and doing things that you might enjoy. Don’t be afraid to fail at something. Right? Like, like just go for it. Yeah, just do it.

Wendy Dau: That’s awesome. Thank you. Good luck, gentlemen. That’s awesome.

All right. Are you ready? Okay. Tell us your name.

Joshua: Joshua.

Wendy Dau: You are a student at Timpview as well?

Joshua: Yeah. Yeah.

Wendy Dau: Favorite of moments of Timpview High school.

Joshua: I think the junior year was like the best year for me, like, ’cause all my friends were here, but like they already graduated. And like being in interior design class with my friend.

Wendy Dau: Oh, so fun. Oh, that’s great. Great.

And what are your plans after high school?

Joshua: I want to do like Digital Media ’cause I wanna work in like the movie industry.

Like maybe like make the posters for movies or like the trailers, but if that doesn’t work out… Probably like fashion or something.

That’s very cool. Those are great things. Those are different than what a lot of people wanna do. I love it. Yeah. Where would you like to go to school?

UVU. I just like these.

Wendy Dau: Well, and you’re gonna start there in the fall, or do you have other plans in between then?

Joshua: No, I’m probably just gonna start like, as soon as possible. And just get a job during the summer so I can like, start saving my money for college. Good.

Wendy Dau: Did you get to go on a campus tour of UVU? Did that have an impact on you wanting to go there or did you just already know that that was a place you wanted to go?

Joshua: I already knew ’cause of like, it’s not too far away ’cause I don’t wanna go anywhere out of state ’cause like it’s more expensive and then living on your own and all that stuff.

Wendy Dau: What’s some advice you would give incoming ninth graders

Joshua: To like, not skip class, because– yeah, don’t skip class.

Wendy Dau: I love that.

Joshua: Yeah. Because I know like a lot of friends who would skip class and like now they have to do a lot of credit recovery and like they don’t know if they’re gonna like graduate. Just make sure that you don’t fall behind. ’cause once you fall behind, that makes it really tough. So you can enjoy senior year.

Wendy Dau: Yeah. Excellent.

Tupou Tua’one: So Josh earned a scholarship.

Wendy Dau: Okay. You gotta tell me about your scholarships, Josh. Let’s do it.

Joshua: Well, I can’t remember the names. I know one was UVU and like–

Tupou Tua’one: He’ll be going full tuition. Yeah.

Wendy Dau: You have a full tuition scholarship to UVU? That is fantastic. That is amazing. Congratulations.

Joshua: Thank you.

Wendy Dau: And what’s the other scholarship you have?

Oh, and you have a Gear Up scholarship too. Okay, awesome. Well that’s great. Oh wow. You have worked hard. That’s incredible. What shout outs to teachers do you wanna give as you’re leaving Timpview?

Johanna: Obviously Ms. T., she was my favorite teacher, she’s Awesome. Well, not ’cause like I’m in her class, she helped me a lot with like getting like scholarships, and all that stuff.

Well honestly, I don’t think there was a teacher I didn’t like. All of them were like really nice and stuff and they had like their own thing.

Wendy Dau: I love hearing that. That’s awesome. You like they help you. They want the best for you. Yeah, that’s what– that’s the feeling I get every time I walk in Timpview High too.

So. Well thank you and congratulations. I’ll see you at graduation. Thank you. That’s awesome. Anybody else wanna go? Oh, here we go. Okau.. Tell us your names.

Trajan Wadsworth: I’m Trajan Wadsworth.

Taray Tela: I’m Taray Tela.

Wendy Dau: Tell us how long you’ve been at Timpview.

Trajan Wadsworth: All four years.

Taray Tela: I came the end of last year.

Wendy Dau: Okay, perfect. And tell us a little bit about what some of your favorite memories have been of high school.

Trajan Wadsworth: Kinda just playing sports and like trying new things and like going to different club activities and stuff like that.

Wendy Dau: Let’s explore that a little bit more. What sports do you play?

Trajan Wadsworth: I play basketball my freshman year and then I’ve been playing volleyball for three years.

Wendy Dau: Okay. And are you gonna play at the next level?

Trajan Wadsworth: Yeah, I’m playing at Southern Virginia University.

Wendy Dau: That’s awesome. Congratulations. That’s amazing. Okay, what about you?

Taray Tela: I think the same volleyball, just playing sports and also I had a lot of family, so, it was fun to come to school every day.

Wendy Dau: I love it. That’s so great. Are you also a volleyball player?

Okay. And so are you playing volleyball at the next level as well?

Taray Tela: Yeah, I’m gonna be playing at Oregon State, yes.

Wendy Dau: Oh my gosh, that’s amazing. That’s incredible. Okay, so wow, we have some talented people in here. This is incredible. How has AVID helped you prepare for your college experiences?

Trajan Wadsworth: AVID’s helped me a lot with my time management.

It’s also taught me how to communicate with college coaches and like helped me keep up my NCAA eligibility and like kind of helped me be able to communicate with tutors and stuff like that. Kind of helped me learn to advocate for myself.

Wendy Dau: You are, you’re gonna have to do that when you’re at Southern Virginia, right?

Yeah. What about for you?

Taray Tela: I’d say the same. I wasn’t aware of NCAA at my other school and then when I came here I learned about it and I had a lot of classes I had to do, so it was good to be like aware and also time management and classes. So, yeah, it was, that’s basically when you’re involved in sports, you have to balance a lot of different responsibilities.

So you have to be way on top of it.

Wendy Dau: So tell me what advice you would give to incoming freshmen?

Trajan Wadsworth: I would say to just learn how to be independent. Learn how to, again, advocate for yourself and be able to talk to people and like talk to teachers and stuff like that. And just kind of put your head down and work when it comes to school.

Just get it done. Like, I don’t know, procrastinating is the worst because getting stuck and being behind is like kind of a trap.

Wendy Dau: Yes. It is. What about for you?

Taray Tela: Go to class.

Wendy Dau: Of course. I love that. I feel like that’s a theme. Go to class. If you go to class that’s like, that’s like 80% of– of your success.

Taray Tela: Yeah. I think that’s why i’m kind of struggling this year, is ’cause I didn’t go to class my freshman and sophomore year. And if I could go back, I’d definitely choose to be in class every day. And, yeah, just don’t procrastinate.

Wendy Dau: And that’s good. That’s good advice. So you, you speak from experience, that’s awesome.

Definitely. I mean, it’s not awesome, but kind of awesome. You’ve learned, so that’s really good. So you’re gonna go play volleyball at your respective schools. What do you guys know what you wanna study when you get to college?

Trajan Wadsworth: I’m gonna do Business and Marketing. And then I also kind of on the side, I want to do Zoology.

Wendy Dau: Oh, very cool. That’s awesome. What about for you?

Taray Tela: Yeah, I was think of Business and also being a realtor, but–

Венди Дау: О, здорово.

Taray Tela: Not quite sure yet.

Wendy Dau: Okay. Well you have time. Mm-hmm. It’s okay. You got plenty of time. What are some shout outs to some teachers that you’ve had over your high school careers that you wanna…?

Trajan Wadsworth: I would say Ms. T and Cecilee both helped me like tremendously. I’ve known Ms. T since I was like in sixth grade and I’m best friends with her daughter, so. s he’s been a huge help with the NCAA stuff like that ,and teaching me how to talk for myself and be independent. And then with Cecilee, she’s helped me a lot with getting my math done, and staying on top of things.

Wendy Dau: Good. How about for you?

Taray Tela: The exact same. Miss T and Cecilee. Cecilee is like, kind of like my tutor, so I don’t think I’d be able to graduate without her and so–so I’ve just been able to get all my stuff done and get caught up with them, so.

Wendy Dau: That’s awesome. So, some key people who’ve made a huge difference for you.

Anything else you wanna share with us?

Trajan Wadsworth: I don’t know. I love Timpview and oh, all the people here, so.

Венди Дау: Мне это нравится.

Trajan Wadsworth: And everyone here is so lucky to have Miss T and Cecilee.

Wendy Dau: That’s awesome. Well, congratulations and I’ll see you guys in a couple weeks at graduation. Thank you. Yay. Thanks everyone for joining me for this week’s episode of What’s Up With the Sup.

As always, all episodes will be posted on the district website, YouTube, and anywhere you get your podcast. If you have any topics or questions you would like us to discuss on the podcast, please email us at podcast@provo.edu. And don’t forget to join us again next week for another new episode of What’s Up with the Sup.

Have a great weekend everyone.