Utah
How the Utah Jazz Scholarship program is helping students seek higher education
SALT LAKE CITY — The path to higher education looks different for everyone. Wil Thomas went to high school at Timpanogos High, where he played baseball, and Janet Lopez was a Student Body Officer at Taylorsville High, but both knew higher education was a step they wanted to take.
“It was kind of something that was always pushed on me from my mom since I was young,” Lopez said.
“The way I see education is it is something that will help me get further,” Thomas affirmed.
As high school upperclassmen, both were thinking about the stress and pressures that come with college — including the financial stress. Then they heard about the Utah Jazz Scholarship Program.
The program provided a four-year full cost of attendance scholarship to 114 Utah high school students — one for every Jazz win from the 2020/21 and 2021/22 NBA seasons. 100% of the recipients are from an underrepresented group.
Wil applied as the class of 2021, Janet as the class of 2022 — at first, they didn’t know their chances, then they were called for a second interview. “The screen goes on in the locker-room and we’re just watching the video, and then Donovan Mitchell was the one that said, ‘Congratulations, all of you guys have gotten the Utah Jazz scholarship,’ and tears just started coming out of my eyes,” Lopez remembered.
“I was really nervous about that second interview, then I got a FaceTime from Royce O’Neal, and then he told me I actually got the scholarship,” Thomas recalled.
Thomas is now finishing up his senior year at Utah Valley University, and Janet is a junior at the University of Utah.
“You’re starting this chain of like future students, future cousins, family members, friends that are going to want to pursue college because you’re in that position and they know it’s possible,” Lopez said.
The financial aspect of the scholarship has been life-changing, but so has the additional mentorship, support, and networking the Jazz organization has provided. “The amount of connections that I’ve made is unbelievable, and I don’t think I would have made them without the scholarship,” Thomas said.
Of course, there are also some fun perks of being a Jazz scholar — like going to the games. “I remember the first time they gave us dinner and everything like that, my dad was like a little kid, like woah this is so cool,” Lopez said.
Two Utah Jazz scholars have already graduated, 15 are part of the class of 2025, 40 are expected to graduate next year, and 50 in 2027 and beyond.
Wil and Janet’s stories are just two examples of what happens when hard work meets incredible opportunity. “If it’s going to happen it’s going to happen, but also it doesn’t just happen by itself you have to put in the work and effort to actually get it to happen,” Lopez said.
A Utah physician is warning that 21 data centers in various stages of development could significantly worsen air quality along the Wasatch Front.
Dr. Brian Moench, with Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment, said the planned data centers are cause for alarm. Each facility is expected to generate its own electricity using natural gas power plants.
While natural gas is cleaner than coal, Moench said it still produces nitrogen oxide, which contributes significantly to ozone, particulate formation, and smog.
“There’s no safe level of air pollution. All of it is harmful, even at the very lowest doses,” Moench said.
Moench said health advocates have legitimate reasons to be concerned about what the facilities could mean for public health in the region.
“There is a real legitimate concern on the part of any health advocates about what this impact will mean to the Wasatch Front and public health if all these data centers are built or even if just a few of them are, and that’s not to address the impact on the Great Salt Lake shrinking up and becoming a toxic dust bowl. That’s the next leg of this argument,” he said.
Moench also raised concerns about electronic waste. As computer chips and equipment become obsolete and are replaced, he said the volume of e-waste produced is something no one has yet addressed.
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UTAH COUNTY, May 11, 2026 (Gephardt Daily) — Two males, ages 14 and 19, were transported to area hospitals Sunday after the side-by-side they were riding rolled down the side of a mountain.
Utah County Sheriff deputies and Santaquin police responded to the 6:07 p.m. call. Two medical helicopters were called to the scene, in the Pole Canyon area, as was a Department of Public Safety helicopter with a hoist in case it was needed, Sgt. Austin Edwards, Utah County Sheriff‘s Office, told Gephardt Daily.
“Eventually, rescue workers were able to make it to the spot on the hill where the vehicle had come to rest, and they were able to secure the victims, stabilize the victims, and get them back down the hill again to where the helicopters were waiting,” Edwards said.
“The 19-year-old male was transported to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo, and the 14 year old was transported to Primary Children’s in Lehi.”
Both were said to have critical injuries, which were not considered to be life threatening, Edwards said.
“The cause of the rollover is still under investigation, so we don’t have that information available just yet.”
Photos: Utah County Sheriff
In what has a chance to be one of the most important nights in Jazz history, the Utah Jazz jumped in the NBA Lottery to the #2 spot for the upcoming NBA draft.
Here are the final results, which show all the movement.
Aside from it being a massive night for the Wizards, Jazz, Grizzlies, and Bulls, it was a devastating night for a few teams, but no one more than the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers, in their trade for Ivica Zubac, had a stipulation on their pick that if the pick was top-4 they kept it. But if it fell below 4, they would give it to the Clippers which is exactly what happened. Now, the Clippers, who are without Zubac, find themselves with a #5 pick to build around.
For the Jazz this is a culmination of four years of rebuilding that ends with an extremely satisfying end. Utah will now have one of the tier-1 players from this draft: AJ Dybantsa or Darryn Peterson. The player Utah drafts will be one of their cornerstone pieces and will have the chance to not only play, but be a part of a team that will be competing for the playoffs this season.
The Utah Jazz now have a Sinister Six core: Darryn Peterson (If AJ Dybantsa goes #1), Keyonte George, Ace Bailey, Lauri Markkanen, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Walker Kessler (if he signs). It’s quite the core with a mix of youth and veterans in their prime. With this group, the Jazz will have a chance to be one of the top teams in the Western Conference. Yes, the Thunder and Spurs are going to be difficult to beat, but Utah has the mix of talent, coaching, and depth that could absolutely do the trick.
Now the Utah Jazz look forward to the NBA Draft that be on June 23rd. Let the posturing begin!!
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