Supercast

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. They walked and received a one-year college degree before stepping onto the stage to receive their high school diplomas.

On this episode of the Supercast, meet some incredibly smart and driven students in what is called the Jordan Prep Program. Find out how dedicating their summers to a rigorous academic STEM program starting in sixth grade propelled the students to college success while they were still in high school.

We're talking today with Stacy Pierce, the specialist over Jordan Prep. This is a really big day for Jordan Prep. And for you and for a lot of students.

Stacy Pierce:
It is indeed. So my kids have been with us since they were 11 and 12, right out of sixth grade. They've been in the program for seven years and today they walked at Salt Lake Community College with a one-year engineering drafting manufacturing technology degree. I'm very proud of them.

Anthony Godfrey:
So tell us about that degree.

Stacy Pierce:
So for two years they've been taking classes at Salt Lake Community Campus with college professors. They were required to take seven engineering classes and three general education classes. And that's what's required to finish the one-year certificate that moves seamlessly into a four-year degree.

Anthony Godfrey:
So they are graduating with a one-year certificate before they graduate from high school later this month.

Stacy Pierce:
Three weeks from now is their high school graduation and they've already walked at a college graduation.

Anthony Godfrey:
That feels pretty awesome. That is fantastic.

Stacy Pierce;
It feels amazing.

Anthony Godfrey:
For those who don't know or are unfamiliar with the program, talk about Jordan Prep. What does it entail? What's it all about?

Stacy Pierce:
So the Prep program was started 40 years ago in Texas to help underrepresented students prepare themselves for careers in STEM. It's a very math intensive program. The students, I would say, invest four summers of their summer vacations to take very rigorous academic classes. And at the end of that, then they start the college portion of the program.
We have over 50% female students, over 50% minority students, 70% of the students are lower income, and about around 70% also are first-generation college. Their parents did not go to college and they'll be the first generation to go to college.

Anthony Godfrey:
What I love about the Prep program is that it starts students early. It's not, hey, ‘you're a junior, what are some things we can do before you leave to help launch you into a successful future?’ It starts in sixth grade.

Stacy Pierce:
It starts in sixth grade. I was an engineer for 30 years, and when I left to start a STEM program for underrepresented students, I knew we had to grab them then. If we didn't grab them then, it was too late. So luckily, I stumbled onto the Prep program and it was already in Utah at UVU, and we brought it. We're the only school district in the nation with a Prep program.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yes. That's a source of pride for me as well. It's pretty exciting. Tell me, so this is, you know, when you start in sixth grade, that's high motivation. That's longer-term goal setting than most sixth graders are focused on. Tell me about the growth you've seen in these students from sixth grade.

Stacy Pierce:
Oh my goodness. I can't believe it. There's a kid sitting right behind me. And boy, he was hyper. And now his ambition is to score 36 on the ACT and head to MIT. He's just rocking the world. The growth is amazing. I mean, I could tell you personal stories about every single one of these kids.

Anthony Godfrey:
I know you've been very personally involved with each student. During COVID you drove to their homes because when we look at six years, that covers a lot of ground. A lot of things have happened in these last six years. I remember pictures of you driving to their homes, delivering materials, just making sure that the momentum continued. Talk to me about some of the activities that have happened over time.

Stacy Pierce:
So before COVID hit, our retention was almost 100%. The only students we lost were students that moved. During COVID, it was difficult, but we had a very successful year. We did rewrite the curriculum completely so that we could do it online. And we had a very successful year. Then we had some attrition, but we're back up to 95% retention in the program. So I'm very, very proud of that.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me, what are some of the expectations you have for students? What do you hope they got out of the program beyond the degree?

Stacy Pierce:
Okay. So I'll just repeat the words of one of our professors this quarter. He said he's teaching four different classes, and the Jordan Prep students feel comfortable in the college classes. They articulate very well. They're a community. They're a family. They support each other extremely well. And they're very thoughtful in their contributions to the class and not scared to speak up in class. So I think they found their voice. They found a community, and they've raised their academic achievement to a level they can go on and be successful.

Anthony Godfrey:
And the name Jordan Prep, they're really living up to that because they are prepared for great things. This one-year degree really launches them into a lot of opportunities, and I assume they're all interested in continuing in the STEM area. 99% are interested in pursuing STEM. One is joining the Air Force, so his mother can gain citizenship, and then he'll become a mechanical engineer. He scored very high on the entrance exam, and he credits that to Jordan Prep.

Anthony Godfrey:
I think that's tremendous, absolutely tremendous. I know you've poured yourself into this program. How does that feel to see this today?

Stacy Pierce:
It's a dream come true. It's an absolute dream come true. What I wanted to do was help underrepresented students, and it's proven out that this is a program that can help underrepresented students.

Anthony Godfrey:
And has helped these students. We're talking about 11 students who graduated, is that right?

Stacy Pierce:
11 students out of my initial 25, 10 who moved.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, it's fantastic to be here today. I'm so excited to celebrate with you and with them and their families. We'll talk with some students and families and hear their reaction as well, but thank you for all the incredible work that you've done with these students and these families.

Stacy Pierce:
You're welcome. It's been my dream come true. It's a pleasure. Thank you.

Anthony Godfrey:
When we come back, find out more about the Jordan Prep program.

Break:
Does your student want to become a veterinarian, commercial pilot, programmer? Maybe they want to make a difference as a dental assistant. These are just some of the programs offered as part of Career and Technical Education, CTE in Jordan School District. CTE provides the technical skills needed to prepare students for future employment or a successful transition to post-secondary education. Career and Technical Education provides work-based learning opportunities. We partner with industry experts to offer apprenticeships and internships with students working in the real world at real jobs while going to school. The CTE experience starts in our elementary schools with the Kids' Marketplace and grows through middle and high school. To explore all CTE has to offer in Jordan School District visit cte.jordandistrict.org today and let's get your child started on the pathway to a profession.

Anthony Godfrey:
We're talking now with Natalia who just graduated. Tell me about how that experience went.

Natalia:
Well, when I first got there it was kind of weird. I was like, "Where do I go?" And so I kind of just followed everyone and then we were just waiting for everyone, like all our classmates to get there. Everyone kind of all just together and we waited a really long time because we just got there really early and then it was a moment to get in line to go get seated and we were kind of nervous, like me and my friends were kind of nervous and we were going inside the building and I was just like, "No, we're in here." And the vibes felt so cool. We felt really cool walking in there as high school students and not even graduating high school yet and we were already going to graduate college.

Anthony Godfrey:
What went through your mind as you walked across the stage?

Natalia:
It was just kind of surreal, like no way this is happening, like no way I'm graduating and as a first generation student too, it was just like my friends are watching me and it's like I'm doing this for them, you know?

Anthony Godfrey:
And have you felt that your friends were inspired by what you were doing in Jordan Prep?

Natalia:
Yes, my friends have actually told me that before where they're like, "Oh, I wish I did this with you. Like I wish I joined earlier so I could have done this," because some of them kind of don't know where they want to go yet. They're kind of just seeing me as like a role model and like, "Oh, like I'm proud of what you did and like that you were able to accomplish something before you even like everyone else."

Anthony Godfrey:
How have your family reacted to this accomplishment?

Natalia:
My friends are really proud. Like I said, I'm a first generation so my mom never graduated from high school, my dad did, but graduating college is crazy because I don't know, they just, they always like pushed me to work hard in school and like do what they couldn't do and doing it for them, like every time I wanted to give up it was just like, "No, like you should do it, keep going, like your parents never were able to do this so like you should do it for them," and I saw, they were crying and it made me sentimental and like almost crying and yeah, I'm just, I hope they're proud.

Anthony Godfrey:
I know they are, there's no question about that. Tell me what you have planned next after this, this is a great start to a lot of wonderful things in your life. What's next?

Natalia:
I plan on going on to Weber State University.

Anthony Godfrey:
I went to Weber State as well.

Natalia:
Really, did you enjoy it?

Anthony Godfrey:
Good choice, it was fantastic.

Natalia;
Yeah, okay.

Anthony Godfrey:
What do you want to study at Weber State?

Natalia:
I want to study interior design. I love like the AutoCAD drawing and like all that and like computer drawing. I know that's something similar that's going to go into that. I always enjoy like putting stuff together. Like even when I was little, I'll design little like rooms for my dolls and stuff. And yeah, I always make sure the colors look nice with each other or the fabrics or whatever and so I think going into that, it's just really fun.

Anthony Godfrey:
You've already had a lot of preparation for interior design starting with the doll houses.

Natalia:
Yes, ever since I was like eight.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's fantastic.

Natalia:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me what are some of the most memorable times during the Jordan Prep program?

Natalia:
I know this is kind of silly but the field trips, I feel like that's the way that everyone got closer because like obviously you're not doing work. I do remember my first year since like everyone was new, this program was new, no one knew what was going on. It was kind of like we were like testing out everything. I remember my our TAs were really fun and I loved my TA. Then throughout these past two years with like doing it at the college, I saw like it was just kind of fun going. We had a routine down where we go on the bus every day and like miss lunch. And I would complain like all the time like “Oh, I can't have lunch with my friends” but then I graduated from college and I'm really grateful for that.

Anthony Godfrey:
So there was sacrifice along the way but you're feeling all those rewards today.

Natalia:
Yes, I am. And yeah, like on the bus ride just me and my friends would just talk and the projects we ended up doing and yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
It sounds like the friendships and connections you made with other students were a very important part of the program.

Natalia:
Yeah, I'm a very sociable person once I get to know someone. And just like I got closer with my friends like throughout these two years because I was forced to. I couldn't change out of my class I was kind of like “Oh, I'll get to know them”. It was really good because I love them now. And I think, I'm not positive, but my friend might be going to Weber as well. So we might room together but we're not sure yet. We're not sure.

Anthony Godfrey:
Great! Fellow Wildcats possibly.

Natalia:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Fingers crossed.

Natalia:
Hopefully.

Anthony Godfrey;
Obviously you’re going to take the things that you learned with you on the field trips, from your TAs, in your college classes, it sounds like you're taking friendships with you as well.

Natalia:
I want to keep in touch and see what everyone does like in like four years once we graduate from high school, or like six and ten. I just want to see where everyone's at. And then I don’t know, in the summer I am working with a couple of them as a TA here in this program.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, really you're coming back as a TA?

Natalia:
Yeah, as a TA instead of a student.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow.

Natalia:
So it's kind of full-circle moment.

Anthony Godfrey:
Not only do you get to have a positive impact on your friends as you work together and watch each other through the years to come, but you get to have a be a positive influence on those

sixth graders starting out. And hopefully, get them to a day just like today was for you.

Natalia:
Yeah, and I hope I can explain it to them. Like maybe at the program so they can keep going and like show them like that is just worth it. Just keep pushing through and it's actually going to be really fun at the end of the day.

Anthony Godfrey:
I love that. Well, congratulations.

Natalia:
Thank you.

Anthony Godfrey:
This is well earned, well deserved, and I can't wait to hear what you do from here.

Natalia:
Thank you.

Anthony Godfrey:
We're talking now with Arlen. You just walked into the Jordan Prep celebration and I recognized you right off. You were on the podcast just a few weeks ago for Mr. Jorgensen's class talking about the Beatles and other music and here you are celebrating graduation from college. I'm so excited for you. So many people were impressed when they heard your interview on the earlier episode. How are you feeling today graduating with your one-year degree?

Arlen:
Well, to be completely honest I'm very ecstatic. At first, kind of like a lot of kids, I was like I don't want to go to graduation. This was like a big waste of time. Like, I'm just going to go there sit down and then get a little piece of paper. At first you hold that mentality, but as soon as you walk in and you see everybody around you, you're like “alright maybe I kind of judged it a little too hard”, because I walked in and instantly my face started smiling. I was like “You know what Sarah, this is kind of cool. It's kind of exciting.”

Anthony Godfrey:
It's very exciting. We're thrilled for all of you. It's really awesome. How did it feel? How did it feel when you walked across that stage?

Arlen:
Oh, walking across the stage it was nerve-wracking but it felt so great. It was like a little part of you is nervous but the majority of you is like this is so sick. Like, I'm just like it's not that I'm just like everyone else right now, but we're all feeling the same level of excitement and it was just so satisfying to be able to do that. Especially because recently since the high school graduation isn't too far off from our SLCC graduation my mom sounded more excited for my high school graduation. I was like “Mom, I'm graduating from college that's pretty sick”. She's been like “Yeah, good job. Yeah, good job.” But as soon as I walked across that stage I was like okay yeah it's not that she wasn't excited for me too, it's just that it's two things to be excited for.

Anthony Godfrey:
There's so much going on in your life it's hard to pick what to be most excited about. And speaking of that, you have other things coming up very shortly in June. Tell us about that.

Arlen:
Oh yeah, so no one else knows this. I lied, a lot of people know this already. But I'm going to be going to the Air Force and I want to make a long career path out of it. I want to go actually be a pilot for the Air Force if that's possible and I know it's a lot of work. But in June I'm going to be finally heading out to boot camp. I've been enlisted since February so that's what that's about three months so far.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

Arlen:
I've been enlisted for about three months so far. So finally in boot camp all the training I've been doing so far is going to show. I'll go to boot camp until, let's see I'm going in– I'll finish in September, so I'll finish September 24th and I'll be going to tech school after that. I'll be back November 24th officially. So I'm really excited to be heading out to boot camp. My technical sergeant asks all the time he's like “Do you guys think you're ready? Do you guys think you're ready?” And it’s just like “Oh, I'm as ready as I’ll ever be.” like I'm ready to get out there.

Anthony Godfrey:
So you're ready. You're ready. What are some of the things that you've been doing to prepare?

Arlen:
I mean the big thing is studying. Like obviously in boot camp you're going to get broken down. They're going to be big on like you need to be able to do your push-ups, your shifts, your run time.

Anthony Godfrey;
Right.

Arlen:
You need to be able to, as they put it, you need to be in a high-stress situation with low risk and perform really, really well. So I've really been practicing with the studying aspect because that's kind of a little low key. A lot of people don't realize but boot camp has a lot of studying in it. You need to know your chain of command. You need to know the insignia for ranks. You need to know the ranks. You need to know your air force song and your air force creed. There's a lot of stuff you need to know about studying and you know you can obviously just focus on your physicality and be like “alright, well as long as it's easy physically everything else will be fine.” But like, I don't know if you all have ever experienced this, but when I was younger my mom would try to teach me math, or my older brothers, and I wouldn't understand it. So they'd get super frustrated at me and then that makes it hard on me to understand it.

Anthony Godfrey;
Right.

Arlen:
So I'm like alright, I'm just going to learn what I need to learn beforehand. I'll be solid physically and then once I get there all it is is just hear the screaming, hear what they say, not how they say it, and then internalize whatever I need to know.

Anthony Godfrey:
You are prepared. Hear what they say, not how they say it and you're focusing on the mental. I've always been impressed with you since we met on that interview and you've got a great future ahead of you. I have zero doubt of that. So I'm excited. You have another graduation coming up with boot camp. You'll graduate from boot camp before you know it.

Arlen:
I've said that like four times today. I told my older brother I'm like I mean this college graduation was pretty easy. I’ve got three more coming up. I graduate four times this year. Even though I just put it out there like as a little joke I'm actually excited about it. I'm like four graduations in one year. Who gets to say that.?

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah well, I'm glad I was here to celebrate number one with you. This is tremendous. Like I said, you have great things ahead of you and I'm really proud of what you've done. You've worked hard.

Arlen:
Thank you. I really appreciate it.

Anthony Godfrey:
And you have a lot of challenges ahead of you that you're preparing for and that will take you to great heights. So congratulations.

Arlen:
Thank you, sir.

Anthony Godfrey:
Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. Remember, education is the most important thing you will do today. We'll see you out there.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. You could say she has a way with words. We're talking about Sophia Montana, a sixth-grade student at Daybreak Elementary School.

On this episode of the Supercast, find out how Sophia managed to win the Utah Regional Spelling Bee in a tough five-hour competition, qualifying her to compete in the National Scripps Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. How is she preparing to go up against the best in the U.S.? Listen and find out.

We're here at Daybreak Elementary talking with Sophia, the champion of the Northern Utah Regional Scripps Spelling Bee. First of all, congratulations.

Sophia:
Thank you.

Anthony Godfrey:
So you are a sixth grader. How many years have you been participating in the Spelling Bee?

Sophia:
Well, this is actually my first year ever participating.

Anthony Godfrey:
Your rookie year, you took state?

Sophia:
Yeah, I did.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's fantastic. Congratulations. What made you want to participate this year?

Sophia:
Well, we just had it as an assignment, and so I did the assignment, but like I've had an interest in words before. I got a dictionary for my birthday, and I like looking up words.

Anthony Godfrey:
You, okay, wait a minute. I have to pause here. You got a dictionary for your birthday, and you love looking up words. Tell me a little bit about that. When did you first discover that you really loved words? Is this a recent thing?

Sophia:
I guess it's a recent thing. I just wanted to know more words and, you know, just increase my vocabulary and use cool-sounding words instead of just boring basic words.

Anthony Godfrey:
I'm so impressed with that. Tell me what are some of your favorite words?

Sophia:
Um, Staphylococci is one of my favorite ones.

Anthony Godfrey:
Is that a bacteria of some kind?

Sophia:
Yes, it is.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, is it? Okay. Can you tell me anything about it?

Sophia:
Um...

Anthony Godfrey:
It's gross, probably.

Sophia:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. What are some other favorite words of yours?

Sophia:
Hmm. Um… lagniappe sounds like a cool word.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, yeah. Lagniappe. Okay.

Sophia:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
What else? And is that like a prize or a treasure, or what is it exactly? I’m trying to remember what that means.

Sophia:
Maybe some kind of treasure. I'm not sure. I'm not good at remembering all the definitions.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. It is a cool-sounding word, though.

Sophia:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
The definition doesn't really matter if it sounds cool.

Sophia:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
What are some of the other words that you like?

Sophia:
Hmm. Um… I like words like... I'm just thinking about other words. Xanthosis is like... means yellow, like... yellow something.

Anthony Godfrey:
Xanthosis?

Sophia:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey;
Does that start with an X?

Sophia:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. Any other words that are particular favorites?

Sophia:
I like...psit​tacine. Because it comes from the Greek root "cita" meaning parrot. And like... so "psit​tacine" would be like "oh, related to parrots" and I've been interested in that word lately.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. Cool. So do you just go through the dictionary from start to finish? Or do you just let it drop open to a particular page and discover words from there?

Sophia:
I just let it drop open to a page.

Anthony Godfrey:
Cool. Do you write in it and kind of circle some favorites?

Sophia:
No, I just remember them.

Anthony Godfrey:
You just remember them. That's even better.

Anthony Godfrey:
I have a few favorite words myself. I was an English teacher and I like tatterdemalion. And I also like dodecahedron, which is a 12-sided shape. You already knew that though. You're nodding your head. You knew what that was.

Sophia:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
And... yeah, there are some great words... and sclerotic. Sclerotic is like arteriosclerosis. But it means that it's-- an organization can be sclerotic. Meaning that things are kind of not moving very well. Anyway, so let's not talk about words. Let's talk about spelling. You started the spelling bee because it was an assignment.

Sophia:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
So let's talk with your teacher about that assignment. Introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about what you've been doing in class.

Tawna Pippin:
My name is Tawna Pippin and I teach sixth grade at Daybreak Elementary. I told my class that when I was in elementary school, I'd won the spelling... our school's spelling bee too. And I don't know, spelling's really important. I just always try to implement it into stuff that we're doing, so we do spelling in class. They have their spelling words every week. And Sophia is an amazing speller. She always has been. So I was just really excited to watch her through this whole process.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's fantastic. Now, so you were a speller. You were a competitor. Tell me about your experience when you were a student.

Tawna Pippin:
Oh, I grew up in a little town in Washington.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. All right.

Tawna Pippin:
That's as far as I went though. Just the school bee.

Anthony Godfrey:
The school bee or the town bee?

Anthony Godfrey:
Did everyone gather in the town square and watch you...

Tawna Pippin:
Maybe not that small of a town.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay.

Tawna Pippin:
It was way back in the day.

Anthony Godfrey:
Do you remember some of your words?

Tawna Pippin:
Unfortunately, no. I know we wrote– I know I have it somewhere in a box, but I don't remember what they were.

Anthony Godfrey:
Do you remember any prizes or anything like that?

Tawna Pippin:
Well, I was just telling her that my English teacher when I was in eighth grade...It was my first year at that junior high. And she brought me like a little– She had run to her classroom. She was a foods teacher, and she taught one class of English. But she just came and surprised me with a little heart box with three pieces of chocolate in it. And I kept that little box for years. Mrs. Friswald was her name.

Anthony Godfrey:
Mrs. Friswald. Well, well done, Mrs. Friswald. Wherever you are. That's awesome. That's really cool. My brother was in the National Spelling Bee, actually, many years ago. The listeners will know just how long ago it was, one of the things he won was a Commodore 64 computer. With a cassette tape drive. So there were fewer words back then available to spell, even. But the one that he messed up on was fughetta. Fughetta has an H in it and he did not know it had an H.

Stay with us. When we come back Sophia shares the winning word that made it possible for her to compete at a national level.

Break:
Hello, I'm Sandy Riesgraf, Director of Communications for Jordan School District, and we want to invite you to connect with us. So many exciting things are happening in your child's school, your neighbor's school, in every school here, every day. Don't miss out on following the fun or simply staying informed when there's important information we need to share. Join us at jordandistrict.org, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @jordandistrict. We can't wait to connect.

Anthony Godfrey:
So, how have your parents reacted to this?

Sophia:
Well, my parents thought I was some kind of a magician. They were like, "Wow, you just did that again. This is your first year. How did you win a regional spelling bee?" And now you're going to Washington, D.C.

Anthony Godfrey:
So let's go back to competition and what that was like for you. You obviously remember the winning word. Tell me about the word that you won with.

Sophia:
That was– the winning word, pneumatocyst.

Anthony Godfrey:
Pneumatocyst.

Sophia:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
My license plate has that word on it. I'm just kidding. What does the word actually mean? What can you tell me about the word?

Sophia:
Some kind of thing to do with seaweed. I remembered it like some kind of algae.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, okay.

Sophia:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
And is this a word that you had studied in advance or is this one that you just, that was just thrown out for you?

Sophia:
I studied it in advance. I was going through like flashcards and I found the word, luckily, because if I wasn't doing that, I wouldn't have known the word. Like it was just a few days before.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now sometimes they have a set list. Did they have a set list that they said they would be drawing from?

Sophia:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
But I understand that the competition went on so long that they had to maybe go– did they have to go off of that list and find some other words because you and your opponents were spelling things so well for so long?

Sophia:
Well, usually they do go off the list, but this year I don't think they said any, they didn't have a spell any words that were off the list.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, okay. So they were all on the list and tell me about your preparation. You said that you had flashcards and you were preparing that way.

Sophia:
Well, the flashcards were actually like, I guess you could call it digital. I used the Word Club app, which was like made for regional and school spelling bees.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh wow.

Sophia:
And you just had, like you have your phone and you have these little flashcards and you can just look at them as long as you want to and then you can get quizzed on them.

Anthony Godfrey:
I never thought about having an app that could help you with that. So you were able to– how many hours do you guess that you studied before the competition?

Sophia:
Well, some days I would study like an hour, two, three, five.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me what it sounded like since I wasn't there. Don't you have to say the word and then spell it and then say it again? Is that still the rule?

Sophia:
Yeah, I believe so.

Anthony Godfrey:
Will you do that with your winning word for me right now? Say it, spell it and say it again.

Sophia:
Okay. Pneumatocyst. P-N-E-U-M-A-T-O-C-Y-S-T. Pneumatocyst.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. Very nice. Very poised. I could hear every letter distinctly. You practice that too, I'll bet. You don't want to mumble through it and have someone mishear you. So did you ask for a sentence or a definition very frequently? Did you have some strategy that way?

Sophia:
Well, some words I had to ask about because it's really strange when you're on stage, when the people are talking into the microphone, it sounds like almost two people talking at the same time. So like I got a word, curio, and I thought there was a "cheerio" and so I had to ask for the definition so I knew which word it was.

Anthony Godfrey:
And that was quickly cleared up.

Sophia:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
And you got curio right, obviously. Did you get some words wrong but then someone else got a word wrong and then you were able to continue on or were you able to spell every word?

Sophia:
I was able to spell every word but we did have a written round in the beginning and I spelled one of the words wrong. Almost everyone spelled the word before that one, ascites, wrong.

Anthony Godfrey:
But you got ascites right?

Sophia:
Yeah, so I stayed in the game.

Anthony Godfrey:
You are incredibly impressive. I can't believe all the words that you know how to spell. And I love that you're so passionate about learning more words. So tell me what you're doing to prepare now for the national level.

Sophia:
Well, I just, I look around for any words that I can find. I have this book that has like stuff about etymology and like spelling rules like where to put a double consonant. And I sometimes study that. Then when I won the regional spelling bee, they gave me like this little gift card that was for this, I think, company called Hexco. And I got like 800 words that were really hard that were likely to come up on the national spelling bee to study. And I'm also doing that and it's online.

Anthony Godfrey:
Great. So do you have all 800 words down cold already?

Sophia:
No, I only have a few words but I will keep studying and I will eventually study all the words.

Anthony Godfrey:
When does the competition happen and where?

Sophia:
It happens in Washington, D.C. I think around the Gaylord National Resort. I think that's what it's called. And it is going to happen during the last week of May. Like they do it on two different days like preliminaries, finals, and so that's why we're going to be there for a week. And also we do a lot of fun stuff there. It's not only the spelling bee.

Anthony Godfrey:
So you can tour around and see some of the monuments and sites.

Sophia:
Yeah, that will be really fun.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's really cool. I love Washington, D.C. Have you been before?

Sophia:
No, I haven't.

Anthony Godfrey:
So no matter how well you do in the competition, this is going to be really exciting.

Sophia:
It is. It will be. And my cousin lives in Washington, D.C. so I'll get to see her too. I might stay like a few more days just to see her.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, that's awesome. So you've got a cousin there. This is going to be fantastic regardless of the outcome.

Sophia:
I know.

Anthony Godfrey:
But I like your chances of doing very well at the national level. You've got the eye of the tiger. I can tell that you have that competitive spirit. So I've heard that it's not only words in the English language that you'll have to spell. Is that accurate?

Sophia:
Yes, there are many different words. There are German words, Spanish and Greek, and Latin words.

Anthony Godfrey:
That is pretty incredible that they're going to make you spell words from other languages. Very impressive. So I think it's really cool also that you're not just studying a list of words, but you're studying rules about how spelling works. Do you also study kind of roots to words? Does that help?

Sophia:
Yes, it definitely does. Like I was saying, the Greek "cyta" meaning parrot and just a basic one like pre-meaning before, post, after, and just tons of others.

Anthony Godfrey:
So it kind of helps you break words down into different elements that maybe help you spell things a little more easily.

Sophia:
Yes, it does.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's impressive. That's going to serve you well for a long time and that's something that you don't always think about first when you're thinking about the spelling bee is how much it helps your vocabulary and how much you understand words as a result of being a part of that.

Sophia:
Yeah, and they said I was going to have to listen to how people say words and then I'm going to have to correct how they pronounce the words for the rest of my life, because now I know how to pronounce almost every word.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh yeah, that's really cool. So spell it out for me. What does it feel like to be up on stage?

Sophia:
It feels strange. I mean, the lights are really bright and when I was sitting, I just wanted to close my eyes and when I got on stage the first time, I thought I was going to faint. Like I actually felt like I was just going to collapse, but well, I didn't. I just have to keep calm. My eyes just facing forward and just spell whatever word they give me.

Anthony Godfrey:
Just kind of stay focused. But the fact that you've been on stage in regions, that will really help you when you're at nationals.

Sophia:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
This is a huge trophy that we have here in the office. Tell me where this is going to go. It's actually a piece of furniture. It's so large.

Sophia:
Well, it's going to go in our, I guess it's called a display case and everyone's going to see this and it's going to be there forever.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, fantastic. Well, I look forward to seeing it many years into the future. Well, I'm really proud of what you're doing. I love that you're passionate about words the way that you are. And I know you're going to have a great time regardless of the outcome and that you're going to work really hard to be at your best. So thanks for representing Daybreak, and Jordan District, and the state of Utah. So wow, that's awesome.

Sophia:
Thank you.

Anthony Godfrey:
Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. Remember, education is the most important thing you will do today. We'll see you out there.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. They are careful not to contaminate evidence or miss a clue to solve a complicated, and in this case, fictional crime. We're talking about students in the Criminal Justice Program at JATC South in Riverton.

On this episode of the Supercast, hear from some criminal justice students who are excelling as crime scene investigators, using their forensic skills to compete at the national level and hopefully, one day land a job in law enforcement.

We're here at JATC South to learn more about the Criminal Justice Program, and we're talking with instructor Brandon Palmer. Brandon, tell us a little bit about this program and the competition we're here to learn more about.

Brandon Palmer:
Sure. The Criminal Justice Program here at the JATC is a concurrent enrollment program, which consists of four courses from the Salt Lake Community College. I combine these four courses so it seems like just one big program, but by the time they're done at the end of the year, they'll have 12 college credits along with their high school credit.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. That's a lot of credit.

Brandon Palmer:
It is. That's the huge benefit of this class. As we go through the class, I was in law enforcement for quite a while, and I kind of give them the truth about the careers that I was involved in throughout my career as a law enforcement officer. A lot of them come in thinking they want to be in law enforcement, forensics, or whatever. I direct them to get a good, educated idea of what their career is. I do have a lot at the end of the year telling me there's no way I'm going to do that. But I figure that's a win. That's a win.

Anthony Godfrey:
Those who've listened to the podcast before know that I've said it's as important to learn that this is not something you want to do as it is to find out that, hey, this is a career I'd like to pursue. Because this is a great time to explore that. You get some college credit in the process, and then you're not on a path that you find out most of the way through your degree that this might not be for me. But I'm sure you also find some students who really decide, hey, I love this even more than I thought I would.

Brandon Palmer:
They then have a better-educated background to make that decision.

Anthony Godfrey:
Sure. They can kind of chart their path from here to get to their career goal. Tell me about the competition.

Brandon Palmer:
The competition is through SkillsUSA. It's a national CTSO. These ladies just did the state competition. The three here on this side did the Criminal Investigation competition, and they won gold. And then this one here did the Criminal Justice competition, and she also won gold.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. That's awesome.

Brandon Palmer:
It is. It's great. They worked hard, and then they showed up, and they did what they needed to do. And now they're on their way to Georgia.

Anthony Godfrey:
So tell me about the two competitions and what's involved.

Brandon Palmer:
Okay, so the criminal investigation competition, they'll be able to get into more detail than I will. But there's several phases. There is a crime scene where they have to walk in together as a team, work together as a team to get a good idea of kind of what happened. Not so much the focus of who done it, but what exactly happened. Is there a crime related? So they have to look at the evidence that's available there to determine that. And then they split them up, and they each do a certain specialty. So for example, blood spatter analysis, fingerprint analysis, and they'll be able to tell you a lot better than I would on the other side.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. And for the other competition?

Brandon Palmer:
The criminal justice competition, there is not a crime scene, but there is a scenario that they have to walk through from start to beginning, so like a domestic. So they walk into a domestic, may have to handle that domestic, determine if there's a crime, make an arrest, and any digging that they may have to do.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's serious stuff.

Brandon Palmer:
It is.

Anthony Godfrey:
So let's talk to the team a little bit. Introduce yourselves and tell me a little bit about what you enjoy from this class.

Quinnley Starr:
I'm Quinnley Starr, and I love the forensic side, but through this competition I've been able to learn. I think I'm not as interested as being hands on in the crime, so that's been very helpful. But I really enjoyed this competition because I was able to figure out exactly what I like about crime scenes, and we were able to all work together, and I learned the stress of a crime scene. Like, these CSI have so much stress on them because if they mess anything up it greatly impacts investigation, and so they have to do everything as perfect as they can.

Anthony Godfrey:
And you're all from Bingham, I understand.

Quinnley Starr:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. So you don't like the hands on as much, but what aspects of it do you enjoy?

Quinnley Starr:
So I enjoy trying to figure out what happens. I don't want to spend all my day just packaging evidence, but I enjoy being like, okay, so we know all of this, so what happened? So I think it'd be more interesting to criminal profile who would be doing this. How did it happen?

Anthony Godfrey;
Great.

Alison Andereson:
I'm Alison Anderson, and I really love the hands-on experience that this class gives us. Every week we have a training day where we get to experience new jobs that we could go into and just how they would do it. So one time, every few weeks we do a self-defense class, and our teacher just teaches self-defense, and we get to go over all that. And it's just such a cool experience that we get to learn how everyone, different jobs, would go about doing their jobs. And it's just really cool to have our hands-on experience.

Anthony Godfrey:
So what did you enjoy about the competition?

Alison Anderson:
I love the hands-on experience because it's just so cool to be able to walk into a crime scene and have it be so live like. It's cool to see how it would actually be set up and be able to go through it and be like, this is how it would actually happen were I to become a CSI and see what I would actually have to do in a real-life situation.

Anthony Godfrey:
So you don't mind being boots on the ground, packaging things up, being the first to come in and tell the other police to step aside. You're here from CSI.

Alison Anderson:
Exactly.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, and tell me about your experience.

Lucy Herold:
My name is Lucy Herold, and I really enjoy just learning about what happened. I love doing puzzles and putting things together. Packaging evidence was really fun. Learning how to do that was a blast. This cause really helped us prepare for that, especially with our training days, because we learned a lot about every single part of criminal justice, not just CSI or criminal justice. We learned about law and stuff, which is really helpful. So we know if there was an actual crime committed and things like that. So it was just a blast in general for me.

Anthony Godfrey:
So do you sometimes, I guess I hadn't thought of this, but until you mentioned it, the first thing you're doing is walking in to determine whether it's a crime in the first place. Because if you jump to conclusions, then you can end up down the wrong path. Now all I know about gathering evidence comes from pop culture. So do you ever take a pen out of your pocket and pick up the evidence that way?

Lucy Herold:
No.

Anthony Godfrey:
No, you're all laughing. Okay. All right. Well, I guess "Law and Order" and all the movies I've watched have not prepared me to be successful in a SkillsUSA competition. Tell me, what was the competition like? Tell me some of what was involved in that and some of the things you had to do well in order to earn the gold medal and go on to nationals.

Quinnley Starr:
Okay. So first of all, the first thing we had to do was go through the crime scene. And so we each have a role to play. Like I measure and sketch the crime scene. She photographs it and Lucy looks for all the evidence and marks it. And so we all have our role. So we go through it and we just photograph it, sketch it, find all the evidence and just record everything. And then we have to write a report on it. And then we each have a skill demonstration we have to do. I did presumptive blood testing. So they gave me a tray with a red substance on it and I had to determine if it was blood or not.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. Presumptive blood testing. That's a phrase I've never said before. What were some of your roles?

Alison Anderson:
So I photographed the scene. So I just made sure that I got and found every piece of evidence that there was so then we could make sure that we packaged everything and make sure that we didn't miss anything that could be vital to the investigation. It's a super important role because if we have to like recreate the crime scene, then we have to make sure that we have photographs of every single evidence. Then as we're looking at it again, we don't miss anything that could be vital. My individual skill was fingerprinting. So they gave me three mugs and I had to dust the mugs to find fingerprints. And this is also a super important skill because no one has the same fingerprint. So if you get a really good fingerprint from an object like my mug, then you could determine whose fingerprint that was and determine that they were there at the scene. And it's just super important to make sure that you get the right person. And so fingerprints, it's a really good way to find them.

Anthony Godfrey:
So you're preserving the scene through photographs.

Alison Anderson:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now tell me about your role.

Lucy Herold:
So I take notes and I help Allison and Quinnley either measure the crime scene or help her take pictures. And then I also help measure stuff too. And then my personal skill was trace evidence, which were you have to look at it like a piece of clothing item. And you have to see if there's any fibers, hair or any like things on it. Like there are certain lights you can use. You have to package the fibers or hairs and like a paper bindle and then label it correctly. You have to package the evidence correctly too.

Anthony Godfrey:
So you have to pull everything together so that you can then take the time to think it through and puzzle it out and try to get a profile and think it through. Now you were the solo gold medalist. Introduce yourself and tell me about your competition.

Meridian Darger:
My name is Meridian Darger. I just turned 18 a few days ago. I've known that I wanted to go in criminal justice in some shape or form ever since I was really young. And then I found out about this program at my old high school. Well, I go to Riverton, but that's just my home school. All of my classes are through Kings Peak online high school. So I found out about it in my early like sophomore year of high school. I found out about this program and I knew I just needed to go into it because I already know like what my calling is, but I just needed to make sure I can handle it because it's stressful. And my ultimate goal is to become a homicide detective. But you have to become a police officer for so many years to do that. So I was just making sure that I can do that.

Anthony Godfrey:
And what do you think after taking the class and being in the competition?

Meridian Darger:
Yes, yes. I love it. It's just, I just know like that's my calling out there. And sometimes I think about like, oh maybe I should do something else. This is going to be stressful. But then I think like there's probably a victim or a victim family out there that's going to need my help to bring them closure. Just help people.

Anthony Godfrey:
I love that you have felt that before being in the class and that this has confirmed it.

Meridian Darger:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about the competition that you were involved in.

Meridian Darger:
So my competition, I had several scenarios that I was just working on on my own. So we would take turns because there was 12 other people competing. We would just take turns going into different rooms and we couldn't talk about it after. So I did like a witness interview report to an armed robbery. I did take fingerprints off a bottle as well. I did a domestic dispute call that I went and responded to and ended in an arrest. And then I also did a, it was a traffic stop, but it turned out to be that the person that was driving had a warrant out for their arrest. So I had to take care of that during the crime scene. So it was a bit higher stakes, but it was like really stressful for me, but it was really fun.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now, how do you prepare for the next level of competition? You've qualified for national competition. Tell me when that is and what you're doing to get ready for that.

Meridian Darger:
Okay. So I took first place in regionals and state. So I think both of them will be kind of similar to the nationals one. I'm just preparing with them. We're going to be working together like once a week leading up and it's going to be June 24th and it's going to be in Atlanta, Georgia. So we're traveling together because we are in school, but they're still going to be competing in their Crime Scene Investigation while I compete in my Criminal Justice Competition.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's really exciting. So you knew this is what you wanted to do. The class has confirmed it and your path is that you want to be a detective.

Meridian Darger:
Yeah, that's my ultimate goal, but I still want to experience like being a police officer, doing smaller state crimes, just trying out different things because I just love what this does for people, what this does for victims, what that does for families, how it protects people. So I just want to experience it for areas, but yeah, my ultimate goal is homicide detective.

Anthony Godfrey:
Stay with us. When we come back, we'll analyze a crime scene with the students of the criminal justice program at JATC South.

Break:
Does your student want to become a veterinarian, commercial pilot, programmer? Maybe they want to make a difference as a dental assistant. These are just some of the programs offered as part of Career and Technical Education, CTE in Jordan School District. CTE provides the technical skills needed to prepare students for future employment or a successful transition to post-secondary education. Career and Technical Education provides work-based learning opportunities. We partner with industry experts to offer apprenticeships and internships with students working in the real world at real jobs while going to school. The CTE experience starts in our elementary schools with the Kids' Marketplace and grows through middle and high school. To explore all CTE has to offer in Jordan School District visit cte.jordandistrict.org today and let's get your child started on the pathway to a profession.

Quinnley Starr:
With going to nationals, it's pretty expensive so we're trying to raise money for it so we have a GoFundMe. If anyone is willing to donate or can, it would help tremendously.

Alison Anderson:
On the GoFundMe, it's under Criminal Justice Nationals Competition. If you go to GoFundMe and you search that up and donate even like $5, it'll be so helpful.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now I understand that I said blood splatter and that is not the correct term. Tell me.

Quinnley Starr:
It's blood spatter.

Anthony Godfrey:
Spatter.

Anthony Godfrey:
I think it's because when I like to buy vinyl, it's a splatter pattern when it's like kind of the, okay nevermind. So paint splatters, blood spatters.

Quinnley Starr:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay.

Alison Anderson:
Any CSI will correct you if you say splatter.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay.

Lucy Herold:
When we were at state, we got shirts that said it's not splatter, it's splatter.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. Alright.

Brandon Palmer:
Splatter is the sound the spatter makes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. So it's splattered and left a spatter. Alright. I've learned a lot today. Alright, Meridian, we're going to walk into this scene. You haven't seen it yet?

Meridian Darger:
No.

Anthony Godfrey:
Talk me through your thought process and what you see and how you determine whether CSI needs to come in.

Meridian Darger:
Okay. Yeah. Before entering like any building, if I was just getting called here, dispatched here, I would get information from dispatch about the type of scenario that's happening. So if it's something that's more high stakes like a domestic call or violent or potential with a weapon, I would immediately call for a backup before I even entered the facility.

Anthony Godfrey:
Can I be your backup?

Meridian Darger:
Yes, you can be my backup.

Anthony Godfrey:
Can I point around the room and then yell clear?

Meridian Darger:
That's only in your show. It's your pop culture.

Anthony Godfrey:
I still want to do it.

Meridian Darger:
Okay. If you're clearing a building and there's a person with a gun, you'll look around. We've done that in the past before.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. I'll just be your backup. Here we go. Open the door. Let's see what we've got.

Meridian Darger:
So I would enter the building if they like let me in. So immediately there is a, immediately there is a body. But if I'm coming into a scenario, the first thing I do is to secure it because I know there's someone there. They could be bleeding out. They could be hurt. But I'm no good to them, if somebody shoots me from behind the bush or something like that. So I have to go through and I immediately clear the scene before. And then I would, I would probably also call for medical to come while I'm searching and then let them know that they can't enter until I let them know it's clear. So medical would come, they would, and I could also clear him to see if he is deceased and let's say he is deceased.

Anthony Godfrey:
And describe what you see here. He looks pretty deceased.

Meridian Darger:
So in the middle of the floor, he's laying down with his knees kind of buckled up. He's got immediate blood stain, a little blood pool by his head. There's a pot that has been knocked over and he is wearing gloves, like basic gardening stuff and there's also dirt near his face. So that's what I see.

Anthony Godfrey:
So what do we do next?

Meridian Darger:
So after that, I would just, if there's nobody here, I would just, I would be calling for–

Anthony Godfrey:
Clear, clear. There's nobody here.

Meridian Darger:
It's been clear. I would be calling for the CSI to come and then I would also have kept in mind a path I would have taken through this whole entire building and let them know how they're supposed to walk in. Like stay against back walls, stay against corners so you don't step on any evidence.

Anthony Godfrey:
And now CSI is on the scene.

Meridian Darger:
And now CSI, come on.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay CSI, you're here. Tell us about what you do from the start of this crime scene.

Quinnley Starr:
Okay, so the first thing we do is put on personal protective equipment. So we got shoe covers, gloves, goggles, face masks and masks. And then we each get our individual equipment out. For example, I get out my sketching equipment.

Alison Anderson:
I get out the camera so I can take photos of everything.

Lucy Herold:
And then I get out evidence markers and a notepad.

Anthony Godfrey:
Come around, take a look and tell me what you think happened.

Lucy Herold:
So we did find some red substance on the bottom of his shoe. We know that whoever's red substance that is was walking away.

Alison Anderson:
We can determine that by looking at the tails. So it goes because the tails are facing away from the body, we can determine that whoever or like wherever the blood was coming from, they were walking away from the body.

Lucy Herold:
Because the tails were pointing the direction they were leaving to.

Anthony Godfrey:
I did not notice the tails until you pointed them out. All right.

Alison Anderson:
We also noticed that on this corner, there is a red substance and it’s dripping down it.

Anthony Godfrey:
So that's the corner of a cart.

Alison Anderson:
So it looks like the head could have hit it.

Anthony Godfrey:
He bled out. That's the term, right? Bled out?

Brandon Palmer:
Possibly. There'd have to be a lot more blood than that, obviously.

Anthony Godfrey:
I just wanted to say the phrase bled out. You know? I just wanted to say that.

Brandon Palmer:
Also, it could have been a broken neck. So we determined that this may be connected to this, right? And then how did it get caused? But then you also see some more blood and that tells you what?

Alison Anderson:
That someone was walking away from the body.

Brandon Palmer:
You would obviously test the blood, but by looking at it, it would be hard for him to make that blood trail, right? So where did this blood come from?

Lucy Herold:
Possibly from someone else who might have been at the scene.

Brandon Palmer:
Then how was it caused?

Alison Anderson:
It was dripping from something and then the movement shows like walking.

Brandon Palmer:
Okay. That's great. So now you know it's walking out, right? But where did the blood come from? And this is where it takes discipline. So you're focused in this little area and then you branch out a little bit. Is there anything more? Right? So where is the first drop of blood possibly?

Lucy Herold:
The first drop of blood is right next to the pot.

Brandon Palmer:
Okay. So is there anything in the vicinity that could have caused it?

Lucy Herold:
Maybe if they picked up the pot and they cut themselves from it, it's a possibility.

Quinnley Starr:
Oh yeah. We can see a red substance is dripping down the bottom of the plastic pot.

Lucy Herold:
Yeah. So someone must have cut themselves on it. It's kind of hard for the deceased to make that blood trail walking away from it. So there is indication that there was a second person at the crime scene when this individual could have passed.

Brandon Palmer:
So we're going to try to find this person.

Anthony Godfrey:
You know what? We're going to leave the crime as a cliffhanger for those listening. But it is interesting how many assumptions I made and how many drops of blood I stepped in before I really started to pay attention to what could have happened and the evidence around. So bravo. Congratulations on the keyed skills you've developed in analyzing a potential crime scene. This is awesome.

Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. Remember, education is the most important thing you will do today. We'll see you out there.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. She is an impressive young student scientist who has discovered an unlikely and very unusual source of electricity using mud to power her iPhone and more.

On this episode of the Supercast, meet Herriman High School's Fianna Smith, whose discovery earned her a ticket to compete in a very prestigious and tough International STEM fair. Fianna will pitch her science project to judges, going up against students from all over the world.

We're talking with Fianna Smith at Herriman High School this morning about her science fair project. Thanks very much for taking the time to talk with me.

Fianna Smith:
Yeah, of course.

Anthony Godfrey:
You have competed at various levels and are now headed to the International Science and Engineering Fair. Is that correct?

Fianna Smith:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about the competition this year to this point.

Fianna Smith:
I have competed in– so there's two levels that I have to go through before I get to the International Science and Engineering Fair. And so that's Regionals and CUSF. CUSF is the Central Utah STEM Fair.

Anthony Godfrey;
And BYU is a sponsor of this and is connected to this, is that right?

Fianna Smith:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, so tell me about the competition there. What were your awards there? I know that there were multiple.

Fianna Smith:
Yeah. I got like six special awards. One of them was the Stockholm Junior Water Prize, Regional Water Prize Award. And that is an entry, like that allows me to enter another competition that could potentially end up giving me a free trip to the Stockholm Water Plant in Sweden, along with a cash prize.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's fantastic. What were some of the other prizes that you won as well?

Fianna Smith:
I also got first place.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay.

Fianna Smith:
And Grand Champion. Grand Champion is the award that allows me to go to ISEF. It's my ticket.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's your ticket to the International Fair. Now Grand Champion is a pretty big title for a teenager. I've never been a Grand Champion. I don't expect to be. But first place Grand Champion and the Water Prize and several others. How does that feel?

Fianna Smith:
It feels great. I feel very proud of myself for putting in all this work to get here.

Anthony Godfrey:
And you've been working on this for a long time. Tell me how long you've been working on this project. From the very start, from the very inception.

Fianna Smith:
I am a junior now and I have been working on this project since seventh grade.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow.

Fianna Smith:
And I've won Grand Champion with this project every year. Except for as soon as I started ninth grade, that Grand Champion award was able to take me to the International Science and Engineering Fair.

Anthony Godfrey:
So not only are you a Grand Champion, you're just a Grand Champion on an annual basis basically at this point.

Fianna Smith:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's fantastic. I know it takes a lot of work to get there. Now you're going to the International Science and Engineering Fair. You've been there before.

Fianna Smith:
Yeah, I have.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about that experience in the past.

Fianna Smith:
It is honestly what I look forward to every year. It's just a week where I get to have fun with people that I don't know. So I get to make a lot of new friends and I get to present my project to people who haven't heard about it yet.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's great. Tell me, because you've been there before now, you have a little bit of a home-court advantage you're going to LA, I understand. Next week.

Fianna Smith:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
And tell me what that week looks like. Because I understand that it's a whole week of activities that you have planned.

Fianna Smith:
Yeah. So everything is pretty much planned out for me beforehand, except for we get a couple hours of our own time every day to just do whatever we want to.

Anthony Godfrey:
So you can go to Disneyland, ride one ride, and then come back.

Fianna Smith:
Yeah, pretty much.

Anthony Godfrey:
Plenty of time.

Fianna Smith:
I think we get one free day. They're renting out Disneyland for the evening on that night.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, that's wonderful.

Fianna Smith:
So we all get to go there and there's no one else, so the rides will be super short and it'll be awesome.

Anthony Godfrey:
That sounds fantastic. Do you expect to see some people that you've met before? Are there other repeat grand champions?

Fianna Smith:
Yeah, I actually have a friend that I still keep in contact with. He's from Pennsylvania and I'm really excited because I know he's going again this year, so I will be able to see him.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's awesome. Sounds great. It's going to be a wonderful time and I'm really excited to hear how things go for you. Now, there's a ton of prep and there's a ton of information for us to talk about, but before we get into the project itself, you have two displays here and I understand that creating the display and transporting the display is a really big part of being successful.

Fianna Smith:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about the process that you went through because I understand that at different levels, different types of information are required because the judges maybe understand the science better at a higher level once you've advanced in the competition.

Fianna Smith:
Yeah, definitely. So, how it usually goes is I'll create a board that has a lot more words than what I would take to the International Science and Engineering Fair, so it's a lot bigger and a lot wordier. So if somebody were just to walk up every day, it would make sense to them even if they had no information on the topic beforehand.

Anthony Godfrey:
So that's the one for me?

Fianna Smith:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's the one at my level, okay? And then the next one, tell me about the next one.

Fianna Smith:
So when I go to ISEF, there are very strict requirements for my board and what has to be on it and what can't be on it. For example, my abstract, I can take that, typically they want that on the board for the state level, but once I get to ISEF, they actually make a special banner that pins on to my personal table that I have for my project board that has my abstract on it and a little like special metal seal too.

Anthony Godfrey:
At the competition itself, are you there with the project as we would picture on any other science fair and you're explaining it to the judges or are you even there, are they just walking by and looking at it?

Fianna Smith:
Typically we'll be there all day. We'll be sitting at our project board all day just waiting for a judge to come by. Typically we have scheduled times for specific judges, so like the regulated judges, and then there will be special award judges that will just come randomly.

Anthony Godfrey:
I see. So there are all kinds of different awards you could win once again.

Fianna Smith:
Yeah, and sometimes they talk to me, sometimes they don't talk to me, sometimes they just
look at my board.

Anthony Godfrey:
Do you have a separate room just for the awards? Just so that when you get home, they're not all over the place in the way so that you can just visit the award room or are they just spread throughout the house?

Fianna Smith:
They're pretty much spread throughout the house.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, all right. Yeah, they probably couldn't fit in one room anyway.

Fianna Smith:
When I go to ISEF, I get a special bag that says ISEF on it.

Anthony Godfrey:
To keep the awards?

Fianna Smith:
Yeah, it's a really nice bag too. So I just keep all of my stuff in there. I'll keep my journal from that year in there along with little souvenirs that I collected at ISEF from going to all the places. Like my pins, I'll put them in there until I hang them up. I have a pinboard that has all my different years on it.

Anthony Godfrey:
That sounds awesome.

Anthony Godfrey:
When I go to a conference, I get a tote bag and I put squeeze balls that I got from vendors. So kind of the same experience.
Stay with us when we come back. Fianna explains how she powers her iPhone making electricity out of power.

Break:
Are you looking for a job right now? Looking to work in a fun and supportive environment with great pay and a rewarding career? Jordan School District is hiring. We're currently filling full and part-time positions. You can work and make a difference in young lives and education as a classroom assistant or a substitute teacher. Apply to work in one of our school cafeterias where our lunch staff serves up big smiles with great food every day. We're also looking to hire custodians and bus drivers. In Jordan School District we like to say people come for the job and enjoy the adventure. Apply today at employment.jordandistrict.org

Anthony Godfrey:
Let's talk about the project itself and talk me through the science behind it. You have a little box of dirt here with a lid and a light and some wire sticking out of it. Explain to me what's going on here.

Fianna Smith:
Yeah, so the box is actually filled with mud.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh yes, when I lift it, it has a mud weight, not a dirt weight. So tell me about what this is.

Fianna Smith:
It's called a microbial fuel cell and what's basically going on within this little clear container is I have two metal wool pads sitting in the mud at a certain distance apart, which I've tested before to see which is best.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, so they're at optimal distance from one another.

Fianna Smith:
Yeah, yeah. How this works is the bacteria in the mud, when it consumes nutrients, it releases electrons and the graphite wool, which is the metal wool, picks up the electrodes and carries them into a capacitor. When that capacitor fills, it releases into the light bulb, making it flash and this is how I measure how much power is being produced.
I have a, I convert the flash rate into the amount of bacteria helping to produce this and the amount of power in microwatts. I can also use the control board that is also hooked up to the fuel cell to measure the power and the voltage, which I can use to math into the current.

Anthony Godfrey:
How did you discover that the bacteria in mud can produce electricity by consuming the nutrients and letting off the electrons?

Fianna Smith:
I was actually scrolling on Science Buddies just looking for a project to do in seventh grade.

Anthony Godfrey:
What is Science Buddies?

Fianna Smith:
Science Buddies is the most basic website you can go to to get science fair project ideas.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, all right. And so as you're scrolling through there.

Fianna Smith:
As I was scrolling through there, I saw like a kit for microbial fuel cells in it. The title was basically like produce electricity from mud. And that's my whole selling point now because of that.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, and this was like a third of your life ago. So tell me about your journey with the mud. So how has the project evolved over the last few years?

Fianna Smith:
My first project was very simple. I was just testing which Utah lake mud would be the best for the fuel cells, which would produce the most.

Anthony Godfrey:
So it's lake mud that has the bacteria in particular that can produce the electricity.

Fianna Smith:
It depends. All mud has the bacteria. There's just two different kinds. Geobacter is the kind that exists or lives close to water sources while Shewanella lives anywhere.

Anthony Godfrey:
Shewanella does not produce electricity as efficiently as the bacteria in lake mud.

Fianna Smith:
I have not tested that.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. Still frontiers to be explored.

Fianna Smith:
Yeah. Personally, I favor Geobacter because it's what I've been using.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. So have you found a difference among lake muds that some are more effective at producing electricity?

Fianna Smith:
Yes, actually. So the Great Salt Lake is the location where I collect my mud. I tested like five different lakes, but the other most significant one was the Utah Lake. The fuel cells are run based off bacteria. I for sure thought it was going to be the Utah Lake that would produce the most because it has a lot of bacteria. But it actually ended up being the Great Salt Lake.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. The Great Salt Lake has produced more electricity than Utah Lake.

Fianna Smith:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
And how long has this LED been flashing with this? I mean, this is a several inch cube. It's not very large. It's like an oversized Rubik's Cube. How long has the LED been lighting?

Fianna Smith:
Almost two years. I think we're over a year and a half.

Anthony Godfrey:
Just with this batch of mud.

Fianna Smith:
Yep.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. That’s incredible.

Fianna Smith:
I haven't done anything to it. I actually just left it there.

Anthony Godfrey:
So what are some of the uses? I see that on the display board you have a picture of, what is it, 12 or 15 of these boxes in various sizes. What uses do you see for electrifying mud?

Fianna Smith:
For example, one that I've already tested this year, it was part of my project for this year, is I tied 15 of my microbial fuel cells into series and parallel to get 5 volts at 1 amp. And I used that to charge my cell phone.

Anthony Godfrey:
You've charged your cell phone with mud.

Fianna Smith:
Yep.

Anthony Godfrey:
That would have come in handy for me a few times. That's fantastic. So you set up, tell me exactly what that looked like. Did you set up a number of these boxes together? What did that ultimately look like? I'm not sure that there's an adapter that just dips right into the mud. So how did that work?

Fianna Smith:
I had to individually measure each microbial fuel cell with a voltmeter to get the amount of power and the current that was in each fuel cell. So after I did that, I was able to figure out which ones I needed to put in series and which ones I needed to put in parallel. Then I had three rows of five, ultimately added up to 5 volts and averaged to 0.3 amps. And then I had two other rows of five that would bring the power to 5 volts and 1 amp.

Anthony Godfrey:
So you had to make sure that you had enough power?

Fianna Smith:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey;
And then how did you harness all that power and get it to the cell phone?

Fianna Smith:
I cut a charger so that I could directly wire it to the wires that were coming off of the fuel cell.

Anthony Godfrey:
I see.

Fianna Smith:
And then so I just– instead of having the part that plugs directly into the wall, I cut that off and wired it into the fuel cell.

Anthony Godfrey:
Talk me through the international board, just each of the categories and a little bit about each one.

Fianna Smith:
Okay. First off, on all of my project boards, no matter which stage, I always have my purpose or my objectives of the project. Basically my goals. This year my goals were to put my microbial fuel cells to work, like to actually charge something like my cell phone, which is why I did so much work in doing that. That was one-half of my project.
The other part of my project was testing if scaling the fuel cells both by width and by height would affect the amount of power being produced and how it would affect that power if it was linear or not linear.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's your objective.

Fianna Smith:
On every board, I have my hypothesis right after my objectives too. That does not change. My hypothesis was that if the mud is measured daily, then the microbiome fuel cells will show a correlation with the increasing delta between the anode and cathode and the increasing overall size. So I thought that it would scale linearly depending on– So the size and the power would scale linearly together.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. So summarize the conclusion for me. Here's the conclusion section.

Fianna Smith:
Yeah. My conclusion was that for the first half of my project charging a cell phone I was able to do that and the 15 microbial fuel cells was perfect for that. All I needed was 15 of the sizes that I had. And then my other part was that I learned a lot more about the growth of the bacteria in the fuel cells and where it grows specifically and why I'm only getting certain amounts of power, because my fuel cells did not scale linearly with power and size. They did kind of a logarithmic pattern.

Anthony Godfrey:
You've charged your cell phone. You've learned a lot through this process. What do you think are some potential practical uses for this knowledge?

Fianna Smith:
So charging a cell phone first off.

Anthony Godfrey:
Right.

Fianna Smith:
I've definitely already done it. So I feel like it could definitely be improved and made easier. One of the professors that I've worked with, she's up at the U. Her name's Dr. Shelley Minteer. She is working with fuel cells to produce gas, like burnable gas. And that was where I was going to take my project next year. That was my plan to go into that.

Anthony Godfrey:
So all kinds of fuel and energy can be produced through mud. So next week is the first focus, but after next week, what happens next? Are you going to continue to pursue this for your senior year?

Fianna Smith:
Yeah. I have one more year of competing in science fair, so I want to take my biggest idea that I've had and just put it all out there. I'm going to, as soon as I get back from ISEF, I'm going to restart the process and I'm going to start researching more about the ideas that I want to do for next year. I want to pursue gas production with this because another byproduct of a microbial fuel cell is burnable gas, like methane. I want to research that and see how I could test different things involving that and get as much gas out of a fuel cell that I can.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now your dad's here with you as well. Let's talk with your dad, Jason, for a moment. I understand that you have a younger daughter who's also interested in science.

Jason Smith:
Yeah, that is correct. Fianna's younger sister, Davonna, has been competing as well. This year she actually won grand champion in the junior level. She's in eighth grade. And her project had what was called a novel discovery in reducing the amount of power it takes to produce hydrogen in an electrolysis process. This is a big deal because a lot of cars are, like Honda, is researching hydrogen fuel cell cars, but one of the big roadblocks is producing the hydrogen in itself. So it's a big deal.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's fantastic. And how does it feel to see your daughter succeed like this in the area of science?

Jason Smith:
Super proud of her. Super proud of both of them. It's pretty neat. They're both quite a bit of talk as most of the, I'll say my friends at work, they always are excited. They want to hear what the results were because they always know when the days are coming because I get really busy helping them get prepared. And trying to get two of them prepared is a lot of work.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, congratulations on the Grand Champions in your home and the great connect you've been able to make through these science fairs.

Jason Smith:
Thank you.

Anthony Godfrey:
On the cusp of international competition once again, how does it feel as you look forward to the competition next week and look back on your accomplishments so far?

Fianna Smith:
I am so excited for next week. I have been looking forward to this for a couple months at least since I've known for sure that I'm going. And obviously before that I was hoping that I would make it. I feel really happy that I did so well in my previous competitions, the state level and the regional level. And I'm just happy with the amount of work that I've put into this and where I've gotten with it.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, congratulations. I'm super impressed with the work you've done, staying with a project for this long and learning as much as you have. You have great things ahead next week and well beyond. So congratulations on your success and your hard work and I wish you the best going into competition.

Fianna Smith:
Thank you so much.

Anthony Godfrey:
Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. Remember, education is the most important thing you will do today. We'll see you out there.
[Music]

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. They wanted everyone to feel great about going to prom and cut costs in the process.

On this episode of the Supercast, hear from an inspiring group of students who belong to an organization at West Jordan High School called “Sources of Strength”. Find out how their incredible Self-Care Event made prom picture perfect and affordable for students, creating feel good moments and memories to last a lifetime.

We are here at West Jordan High School with Robyn Briggs, the advisor for “Sources of Strength” and you're putting on a Self-Care Event tonight. The media is out, all kinds of students are out. Tell us about what's going on.

Robyn Briggs:
We're super excited that you're here. We're doing a “Sources of Strength” event and this event is all about bringing mental health awareness to the kids and helping them realize that their thoughts and opinions about themselves is important for their mental health. And so to give a little self-care to yourself goes a long way.

We've collaborated with a ton of volunteers from our community and they're all coming out to do manicures. We're making corsages and boutonnieres for these kids' prom dates, we have permanent jewelry, we have eyelash extensions.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow.

Robyn Briggs:
We've got haircutting. We've got so many things. Brow waxing. These kids are literally coming out of here a whole new person.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow.

Robyn Briggs:
I'm serious.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's the total makeover. So is prom tomorrow night?

Robyn Briggs:
Prom is tomorrow night and all the kids signed up for appointments for this event. We've had over 45 volunteers come to perform services.

Anthony Godfrey:
45 volunteers and how many students signed up?

Robyn Briggs:
We're serving over 100 students today.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. That's fantastic. And tell me a little bit about “Sources of Strength”, the group that organized this.

Robyn Briggs:
So “Sources of Strength” is a suicide prevention program at our school. It's actually a class and I'm the advisor for that class. The students in the class are called our peer leaders. They're nominated by their peers as people that they can trust and go to when they're struggling. And so Sources of Strength is an upstream approach to suicide prevention.

We focus on the good rather than the negative. So focusing on stories of strength rather than stories of trauma. We help students draw to their, like go to their strengths when they're going through a hard time rather than focusing on the trauma that they're going through. So looking around them and being like, "Oh wow, I have so many strengths around them. I have my family's support. I have my mental health. That's a really strong strength of mine. I have my physical health. I have all these things. I have mentors." All of those things are their strengths and we help them recognize their strengths so when they are going through a hard time they can turn to those strengths.

Anthony Godfrey:
And by organizing this event, these students are now being a source of strength for the broader West Jordan High School community.

Robyn Briggs:
Exactly. And not only that, but they're getting to know the peer leaders that are at the school who are putting these things on and they're realizing, "Oh, I can get to know these peer leaders and they will be my friend." And all the peer leaders are super welcoming, super loving, and they're just like pillars in our school who shine and are positive and willing to be literally anyone's friend.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's fantastic. Yeah. And I can see the great turnout here. There's a ton going on. Talk me through. Let's walk and talk through some things that are happening.

Robyn Briggs:
Okay, sounds good. To our left right here we have our brow station. We have girls getting brow laminations, brow tints.

Anthony Godfrey:
What is a brow lamination? Putting your head through a laminating machine doesn’t seem like a good idea.

Robyn Briggs:
Okay, no, exactly. A brow lamination is when you take the hairs on your eyebrows and you laminate them up so it makes for a fuller-looking brow. And honestly, it's a huge trend right now and it's actually pretty expensive to get done. It's kind of a newer trend though. It makes your eyebrows look fuller, I guess.

Anthony Godfrey:
I have not experienced this trend.

Robyn Briggs:
Yeah, and there's also eyebrow tinting going on here. So if your eyebrows are naturally a little lighter than your hair color, they can tint it so that it matches the hair color on your face.

Anthony Godfrey:
So you can emphasize the brow, change the color of the brow so it matches the hair.

Robyn Briggs:
Exactly.

Anthony Godfrey:
And it makes for a wonderful Prom.

Robyn Briggs:
And then we've got like Skin Core over here doing waxing. They volunteered to do waxing eyebrows for us. They're doing men's, women's, all the things. Men need to get their eyebrows waxed too. Did you know that Dr. Godfrey?

Anthony Godfrey:
I did know that.

Robyn Briggs:
Okay, I'm just making sure.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yes, they do. And so tell me, so we've got the waxing going on here and this is teeth whitening right here it looks like?

Robyn Briggs:
This is teeth whitening. Can you even believe it? We've got a teeth whitener came out and donated their time to do teeth whitening on these students.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's amazing.

Robyn Briggs:
Yeah, and you know, honestly, smiles are so important. They light up a face and when you're not confident about your smile, that ruins your self-image. It really does. And so if that's something we can do to help them so they feel a little bit more confident and feel like, “oh my gosh, I can smile and I can be happy.” All of those things. Isn't that what we're trying to do?

Anthony Godfrey:
That's wonderful. Permanent jewelry. Talk to me about permanent jewelry. Now, I think my niece did this. So is it when you weld a kind of a link in a chain and now you've got a bracelet on permanently?

Robyn Briggs:
Yes, exactly. I actually just got mine done.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, let's see. Lovely. Very nice.

Robyn Briggs:
And I'm matching with my student Aspen. Shout out to Aspen. She's doing permanent jewelry. She's taking, they get to choose their chain, their design and they get it welded onto them. It's not really permanent. You can cut it off at any point in time, but it's super fun.

Anthony Godfrey:
Sure, what is permanent? But it’s as permanent as anything gets.
Robyn Briggs:
Yes, exactly. It's not quite as permanent as a tattoo though. Okay. So we're good. We're good on that.

Anthony Godfrey:
Then, we've got the brows here and the eyelash extensions. Wow.

Robyn Briggs:
Yes, we have eyelash extensions. Can you even believe that these women came out to donate their time? Eyelash extensions take up to two hours to do and you're literally gluing on individual eyelash hairs to like make your eyelashes fuller. Some of these girls might not have very full natural eyelashes. So it really does make a huge difference on their self-confidence. But we have, you can see, we have six stations doing eyelash extensions right here. Six girls that are going to have a full set of lashes for prom.

Anthony Godfrey:
It looks, it does look intense and complex.

Robyn Briggs:
Right.

Anthony Godfrey:
For those who are listening, there are tables set up everywhere. There's a ton of swag and it's just obvious there are lots of volunteers here helping everyone look their best and feel their best. That's the most important part.

Robyn Briggs:
Isn't that the most important part? We've also got over here, we've got Dapper Delinquents, a barber shop here in the valley. They came out, they have six barbers here doing our men's haircut. We wanted to make sure that the boys felt included and knew that we understood that their self-image is really important to their mental health as well.

Anthony Godfrey:
They've got the clippers out. I don't want to get too close and distract them. They're putting a sharp line on the edge of these boys' hair and it looks really great.

All right Dom, so you're the president of “Sources of Strength”, right?

Dom:
Yes sir.

Anthony Godfrey:
And you are currently getting your haircut.

Dom:
Yes sir.

Anthony Godfrey:
And how's it feeling so far?

Dom:
It's pretty good. I'm happy with it.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about this event. How have you felt as this haircut comes to a close?

Dom:
Honestly, it's been one of our best events and I'm happy with the way it's turned out. More people showed up than I thought and honestly, I think it's made a big impact.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now that you have had this haircut, are you feeling at your best?

Dom:
Yes sir.

Anthony Godfrey:
You look your best.

Dom:
Thank you. All thanks to my man right here.

Anthony Godfrey:
And what's it been like helping out tonight with all these haircuts?

Carlos:
It's been good, you know. Just coming out here seeing new people and getting new people to come into the shop, getting to check us out. We've only been around for like a year in the West Jordan area.

Anthony Godfrey:
And tell me your name?

Carlos:
Carlos. People know me as Los Cuts as well on Instagram and everything.

Anthony Godfrey:
Los Cuts, okay. How did this event come together? Where did the idea come from?

Dom:
So we wanted to find a way to help boost everybody's confidence or self-esteem. And one way we thought was, you know, one of the biggest dances was prom. So we thought, “hey, maybe if we run an event where people can come in and help fix up maybe if they need their nails done or and don't have the money for it, they can come in and people can donate their time and resources that could help out.”

Anthony Godfrey:
It's a time when you want to be your best and your self-esteem is really important. So I think it's well-timed. I loved the idea from the moment I heard about it. That's why we wanted to come out. So thanks for being a source of strength for so many people tonight.

Dom:
Of course. And thank you.

Anthony Godfrey:
Stay with us. When we come back more with “Sources of Strength.”

Break:
Hello, I'm Stacee Worthen, Secondary Counseling Specialist for Jordan School District. Do you know all the ways Jordan School District counselors can help you and your students? School counselors play such an important role in our schools. They provide parents with resources to help guide their children in academics. They provide support with the mental and social well-being of students in our schools. And if you are in the process of preparing a student for college, or just beginning the conversation of higher education, now is the perfect time to reach out to your child's counselor. We can assist with college applications and college readiness. I encourage parents and guardians to schedule an appointment and get to know your student's counselor. Together, counselors and parents can help develop plans and strategies for students to succeed long after they leave Jordan School District. Reach out! We're always here to help. You can find us and learn more at counseling.jordandistrict.org.

Anthony Godfrey:
Sahalee is a peer leader with “Sources of Strength” and you're also helping with the tinseling of hair tonight.

Sahalee:
Yes, I am.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tinsel is something that is for a Christmas tree–

Sahalee:
And for hair now.

Anthony Godfrey:
–from the 1900s for me. But I'm being brought into the 20th century.

Sahalee:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about tinseling hair.

Sahalee:
Well, you can tie it in. We're beading it in because it's a lot faster. So we're just doing like chunks and just putting it in. It's heat resistant. You can still curl your hair. Just–

Anthony Godfrey:
So can you curl it with your hair? And you said you're beading it in. How do you bead it in? How does that work?

We have small beads that we're clamping in. Okay. So we're just like putting it in through these and we loop it and clamp it.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. Oh, so there's a little tool.

Sahalee:
Yes. There is.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wire on the end of the handle.

Sahalee:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
You pull the hair through it looks like.

Sahalee:
And then we have a clamp.

Anthony Godfrey:
And then use a bead. The bead is the clamp?

Sahalee:
No, we use a bead and then we clamp it down.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay.

Sahalee:
And then it's in your hair.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh wow. Okay. And how permanent is the tinseling?

Sahalee:
Honestly, it comes down to like how well you take care of it. So you can have, I've had it up to like a month, but some people get sick of it. You could just clamp it the opposite way and it'll fall off or you can pull it out.

Anthony Godfrey:
And you were just tinseled. How does it feel?

Sahalee:
I guess cool. I mean, I can't really see it, but everybody's giving me compliments.

Anthony Godfrey:
It looks great.

Sahalee:
Thank you.

Anthony Godfrey:
I think it shimmers. It's wonderful. So yeah, well done. Oh, and look, there are different colors. I would have thought it would be–

Sahalee:
Lots of different colors.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. There's a whole array. What goes with my faded old hair?

Sahalee:
I say bright pink.

Anthony Godfrey:
Bright pink. I’d really make a statement.

Sahalee:
Oh, 100%.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, it would have to be cut pretty short. Those are long strands of tinsel unless I wanted it to trail behind me.

Sahalee:
I think that would be awesome. That's a look.

Anthony Godfrey:
I guess it is a look. I could give a whole vibe.

Sahalee:
You could give a vibe.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yes. Okay. Thank you. I've learned a great deal in just the last few minutes.

Sahalee:
Thank you.

Anthony Godfrey:
What do we got next?

Robyn Briggs:
My personal favorite thing that this event has, it has inclusivity for all different hair types and all different diverse students. We've got a whole section back here for girls with textured hair, our black Latino students, our Polynesian students, which West Jordan has a large population of those students. We've got braiding, cornrows and things like that. And then we also even have wig installations and girls can bring their wig and get educated on how to install their wig properly. I don't know very much about all the things that they have to deal with with their hair and self-care and all of that, but I do know that installing a wig is actually very difficult. And so educating the black girls on how to do that is really influential for their self-confidence. And so all of these women came to help out with that.

Anthony Godfrey:
Those appointments filled up fast. Yep. They did.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now I'm still going back to the tinsel hair. I'm seeing the result of–

Robyn Briggs;
We've bamboozled him.

Anthony Godfrey:
–the tinsel hair there. I don't know if it could work for me, but I like the concept.

Robyn Briggs:
I don't know, what about a little silver sparkle?

Anthony Godfrey:
A little silver sparkle.

Robyn Briggs:
You're what they would call a silver fox so let's just elevate that.

Anthony Godfrey:
It just doesn't sparkle. No, I think that looks great. That's really fun.

Robyn Briggs:
Oh my gosh, your hair looks so beautiful.

Student:
And she's doing tinsel too.

Robyn Briggs:
She's doing tinsel on your hair.

Student:
But it's a surprise. It's a surprise. I don't know what it looks like yet.

Robyn Briggs:
So cute. Okay, we've got all of our nail tech over here. We had over 16 nail techs come out today to do all different types of nails on these girls. Isn't that amazing?

Anthony Godfrey:
So then we've got the little light here. Is that right? It's a light.

Robyn Briggs:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Does the light dry?

Robyn Briggs:
It cures the paint.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. And there's a lot here I don't know. This is beyond my my world.

Robyn Briggs;
I know.

Anthony Godfrey:
I have sons all the way.

Robyn Briggs:
But girls, we do know it. We know it. Yeah. And we even have somebody who's come in pre-made press-ons so that the girls can choose from a ton of different press-ons to put on. Her name is Yasmin and she's amazing.

Anthony Godfrey:
And I see we have a boutonniere station here as well. Tell me about that.

Robyn Briggs:
So we actually had all of these flowers donated by Ensign Floral. They donated enough corsages, enough flowers for 25 corsages and boutonnieres. So 50 total. And I'm pretty certain we're gonna have a lot extra because they were really generous. And so we're really appreciative of their donation. We have Maddie Sorenson, our agriculture teacher here, and she's educating and teaching all of these kids on how to create a corsage and a boutonniere for their date. So they're hand-making their corsages and boutonnieres.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. I see lots of glue and sprigs and ribbons and other materials. People working hard to put those together. All of them custom, hand made.

Robyn Briggs:
And all of them are specific to the student's outfits, right? You want your corsage to match your dress. So we have a wide variety of flowers here. We have a wide variety of colors and ribbons so that their corsage can specifically match their dress.

Anthony Godfrey:
This is super impressive. Obviously, “Sources of Strength” has an incredible focus on helping students get through the difficulties that they may be living through at home or at school. And tonight, lots of kids are going to have an incredible time at prom tomorrow. There's no doubt about that.

Robyn Briggs:
There's no doubt about it for sure. And I'm super excited with how it all turned out. And we're grateful that you came out and you're here to support us.

Anthony Godfrey:
I'm thrilled that I got to see SOS in action. You guys are awesome. Thank you so much.

Robyn Briggs:
Thank you.

Anthony Godfrey:
Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. Remember, education is the most important thing you'll do today. We'll see you out there.