Grand County High School’s Students of the Month for November 2016 are Shaley Larsen and Jonathan Park. Both are seniors.
Larsen is the daughter of Matt Murphy and Chantell Murphy. She said her favorite class at GCHS is ceramics.
“I love to throw on the wheel, and Mr. Anderson made that class so fun,” she said.
Larsen’s most challenging classes are AP English and History 1700, the latter of which is a college-level course.
“Both of these classes pushed me to work harder than I ever have,” she said.
Larsen has worked at Canyonlands by Night for the past two years as a kitchen prep worker.
After high school, she plans to attend college, where she hopes to become a nurse. She would like to go to either Dixie State University or Utah State University.
Park, a senior, is the son of Jung Hyun Park and Helen Heonok Park. His favorite class is woodworking.
“I enjoy woods because it allows me to be artistic in a different way, and the teacher is incredible,” he said, adding, “I also enjoy AP calculus because it is a challenge and the material we learn has now come to the point where A+C=37 and we can draw pictures using numbers.”
Park says his most challenging classes are AP calculus and AP English.
“Besides the fact that they are advanced placement classes, they offer a different challenge, as many of the peers are so smart, therefore you get to see so many different interpretations of a single subject,” he said.
Park enjoys participating in football, swim and track, and is a member of the National Honor Society and the FCCLA Club. He was a captain of the football team his senior year, and was voted rookie of the year on the swim team last year.
Park’s involvement with the honor society allows him to help out with the half marathon each year. He also had the chance to go to Mexico to build a home with a church group, for less fortunate people.
“It was a life-changing experience for me,” he said.
Outside of school, Park has worked as a maintenance worker at Riverside Inn since he was in middle school.
After graduating from high school, Park plans to go to college and pursue a degree in engineering.
“I would love to go to UC Berkeley and to be able to get a job for a big company,” he said.
The local Elks Lodge sponsors Grand County High School’s Student of the Month under the direction of Frank Vaccaro. Jeff Richards is the high school coordinator. The Elks started the program to recognize students who are outstanding in the areas of character, leadership, service, citizenship and scholastic performance. GCHS faculty members choose the selected students, and the Rotary Club and Grand County School District Board of Education also recognize them.
