Shannon (Hubert) Beckstead- 2022

Where do you currently live?

West Jordan

Tell us about your life now, including your family, your hobbies, your occupation and any accomplishments during the last 20 years.

I met my husband in 2006 (at work) he was my boss. Got Married in 2009. We both still work for the same company that we met at. I started as a hostess at 16 and moved my way up in the company holding numerous positions. I traveled a lot in my 20’s opening close to 20 restaurant’s and now am currently a Regional Facilities Manager. I manage everything facilities related, and have over 70 stores in Florida and all the Utah Red Robin’s. I travel for work and always have. I have 2 kids, they are my world. 5 and 8 year olds. We started later in life so we could travel and explore life together. We built our dream home almost 3 years ago and are constantly working on our home and life.

What is your favorite memory from high school?

I ditched a lot, so probably lunchtime with my friends.

What do you think your “high school self” would be most surprised to learn about you now?

That I lost touch with so many of my core girlfriends.

Are you planning to attend our 20 year reunion on July 9th?

Maybe

Austin Olsen- 2022

Where do you currently live? 

Saratoga Springs, UT

Tell us about your life now, including your family, your hobbies, your occupation and any accomplishments during the last 20 years. 

The past 20 years has gone by so fast. After high school I served an LDS mission in Brazil. After that I spent a few years playing around and lived in Idaho, Arizona, Indiana, and finally made my way back to Utah. Shortly after returning to Utah I met my wife and started school. We got married in 2008 and I got a degree in accounting. We have 2 boys, Daxton age 8 and Cash age 4. I would be in trouble if I didn’t mention our 2 dogs, Harley and Jazzy. My main hobby has been Crossfit. I started doing it in 2013 and have been a coach since 2015. This hobby has kept me active and feeling almost as young as I was in high school. I spend a lot of time coaching my oldest in lacrosse and my youngest in soccer.

What is your favorite memory from high school? 

I don’t know if I have a single favorite memory from high school. When I think back at high school I remember a lot of the football and basketball games. I enjoyed watching our teams play hard. I enjoyed the excitement of all the students together cheering and having fun.

What do you think your “high school self” would be most surprised to learn about you now? 

I think my high school self would be most surprised to learn how little hair we have.

Are you planning to attend our 20 year reunion on July 9th?

Yes.

Corey J Smith – 2022

Where do you currently live? 

Danville, Pennsylvania

Tell us about your life now, including your family, your hobbies, your occupation and any accomplishments during the last 20 years. 

Stay at home Dad of three gorgeous girls, supported my wife through becoming a Medical Doctor, have lived in New Orleans and Central Pennsylvania during the process. Survivor of Melanoma. Served a Church Mission in the Philippines. Love Cycling, Hiking, Reading, and Video Gaming. Cycling 22 miles a day, goal of 8,000 miles this year. Graduated University of Phoenix with a Business Degree that I don’t use much nowadays. Lost my Father due to Suicide a few years ago.

What is your favorite memory from high school? 

My favorite memory is the friendships made, even though I don’t get a chance to see everyone as much as we’ve lived out of state. I though always cherished the connections made and being able to reconnect and keep up via social media. It’s amazing watching what everyone has accomplished. Miss all the fun times in Choir and Cheer.

What do you think your “high school self” would be most surprised to learn about you now? 

My high school self would be most surprised by the fact that he found the love of his life and it wasn’t any of the girls he crushed on during high school but was an amazing blind date. He’d be surprised by how hard yet rewarding it is to be a father.

Are you planning to attend our 20 year reunion on July 9th?

Maybe.

Cassandra (Heaps) Webster- 2022

Where do you currently live? 

Brigham City, Utah

Tell us about your life now, including your family, your hobbies, your occupation and any accomplishments during the last 20 years. 

After high school I went to Utah State University earning my BS in Exercise Science. I married one of my college friends and adopted 3 beautiful children. They are now ages 12, 8, and 2. I became a Certified Personal Trainer right out of college. The economy crashed so I went back to school to become a Physical Therapist Assistant. I now run a boxing program for people who have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. My boxers have become my new extended family because unfortunately both of my parents have since passed away. Because I like to juggle life, I am also currently one semester into getting my Master’s Degree in Fitness Promotion. I run half marathons for fun and love to travel as well as go to concerts.

What is your favorite memory from high school? 

How do I pick just one? I loved high school. I loved cheerleading, playing in the orchestra, and going to France junior year. I loved watching movies in Ashlee’s basement, going out dancing with Shannon, and dragging State St. in search of cute people to flirt with.

What do you think your “high school self” would be most surprised to learn about you now? 

That I am more courageous than I ever thought I could be.

Are you planning to attend our 20 year reunion on July 9th?

Yes.

Libby (Day) McCarthy- 2022

Where do you currently live? 

Dunstable, MA

Tell us about your life now, including your family, your hobbies, your occupation and any accomplishments during the last 20 years. 

I’m a stay-at-home mom of 5.5- 13, 11, 9, 5, 2 and our newest addition to come in April 2022! After being in and out of public school a couple times, my kids are currently home schooling- which takes most of my time these days. It’s great having an excuse to explore the rich history and trails of New England, though!

Backing up 20 years- I got a BS in Applied Math and a masters in Computational Mathematical Engineering. I married my husband, Jay, almost 15 years ago, and followed his professor jobs around the country, first to Provo, then Poughkeepsie, NY, and now where we currently are (and where he grew up!). However, he started a company “on the side” and is quitting his professor job this year so we may be moving again soon…

Over the years I’ve dabbled in tutoring math, learning about home repairs and minor home renovations, a bit of gardening, but mostly figuring out how to be a mom and wife- which I’m finding school did not prepare me for AT ALL! 😀 I still love learning and reading, and squeeze that in whenever I can (thank goodness for audiobooks and podcasts). My mother moved in with us almost 4 years ago, and has dementia, so we all take care of her as well. We have quite the crazy household! For fun, Jay and I mostly watch movies, play board games, eat out, and utilize our Boston Ballet season tickets. In the summer, we spend most of our time in and on the lake at my husband’s family cottage. When we can, we love to travel- so far going to Japan, France, Greece, and Spain as a couple, and brought the whole family to Mexico this year!

What is your favorite memory from high school? 

I’m surprised by how little I remember, honestly! I think I had fun working in the “book store” (that didn’t actually sell any books) and I thought our school dances, activities, and the crazy “Utah asking methods” were super fun! I remember feeling so busy back then, and now I wish I had that much down time!

What do you think your “high school self” would be most surprised to learn about you now? 

I have 6 kids?!?!

Are you planning to attend our 20 year reunion on July 9th?

Yes!

Micah Platt- 2022

Where do you currently live? 

Draper

Tell us about your life now, including your family, your hobbies, your occupation and any accomplishments during the last 20 years. 

Camping, Mexico, and adventures. Goal is to take my kids to all the fun places I can.

What is your favorite memory from high school? 

So many from homecoming senior year to spring break in St. George. I do think the funnest ever was cruising downtown during the Olympics and just taking it all in.

What do you think your “high school self” would be most surprised to learn about you now? 

That I have three kids.

Are you planning to attend our 20 year reunion on July 9th?

Yes!

Leticia Haacke

“Although attending CHS for a short-time, I will always consider myself a part of the CHS class of 2002. I was fortunate enough to attend 7 years of elementary school with a great deal of my CHS classmates, and will always have a great love in my heart for my CHS peers.”

One week after completing her junior year of high school, Leticia completed high school early, and set-out to begin her academic college “career”. During what would have been her senior year in high school, Leticia immersed herself in college academics and theatrical acting.

Later, while working on two undergraduate degrees from the University of Utah (the first degree in Health Promotion and Education with a minor in Nutrition, the second a Bachelors of Science degree in Behavioral Science and Health) Leticia worked full-time for a local fashion designer, which had her touring the country for a duration of four years, helping with the production of runway fashion shows.

After completing undergraduate school, Leticia was accepted to the University of Utah Graduate School of Social Work, where she completed her Masters degree in Social Work in early May of 2012. Leticia is currently working in emergency medicine.

Leticia has spent the last decade heavily involved in volunteer work within the community, and has since become a veteran public speaker within the city of Salt Lake.  When not involved with work, Leticia enjoys spending time with family, which have now mostly migrated to the west coast; reading, conducting medical and social work-related research, going to yoga classes, cycling and participating in water sports.

Jonathan Hepworth

Sometimes it seems like it was nearly yesterday, but then I look back and realize ten years have passed since we left Cottonwood High School.

I first traded in my black and gold for red when I started at the University of Utah, but I left classes for two years to serve as a missionary in the Georgia Macon Mission. When I got back to the U, I began to realize that I wasn’t as interested in Middle Eastern History as I had been, and I eventually drifted toward southern US history (although I wrote my senior thesis on the University of Utah during the 1960s…fun times).

My parents divorced in 2007, so I left forever the old Cottonwood neighborhood for campus life, and after I graduated in 2008 I moved in with my Dad in Bountiful. Not all was lost, however, since I began dating an attractive organist, Amy Carruth. In the meantime, I had four classes at Cambridge University, I returned to Georgia three times, stopped by South Carolina twice, and spent Christmas in Belen, New Mexico (Belen=Spanish for Bethlehem). I also saw the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the town of Drighlington in the UK where my Hepworth ancestors came from before moving to Utah.

I worked for the Marriott Library’s Special Collections for a few years and at one point was working full-time. Then the sliding economy bounced me back to part-time work. This accelerated my previous plans to go on to graduate school, and in 2010 I started at Clemson University in South Carolina to get a Master’s in History. Following that semester I married Amy, and after a few months back in Utah we moved to Athens, Georgia where she goes to the University of Georgia and I commute to Clemson. In January Amy gave birth to our first son, Joshua, who is too cute for his own good.

I cannot make it to the reunion since finances (not to mention my ongoing thesis work) will not allow it. I do hope everyone can enjoy it for me! I do not know what the next ten years will bring. Whatever comes, I hope I can face it with good humor and gratitude for what I’ve been blessed with.

-Jonathan D. Hepworth

 

Chris Wharton

After graduation, I went on to study history and political science at Westminster College. I was active on campus and was elected student body president my senior year. I also became a very active and frustrated member of the Utah Democratic Party, working on a number of local, state, and national campaigns. After receiving my bachelor’s degree in 2006, I compromised my dreams and went to law school at the University of Utah. While there, I spent a semester as a visiting student the University of Oxford, served as Managing Editor of the Journal of Law and Family Studies, and was elected president of the Student Bar Association. I interned at the Utah Attorney General’s Office and the Salt Lake City Prosecutor’s Office graduating in 2009. I currently practice in the areas of family law and LGBT advocacy, as well as the dark arts of criminal defense. In my spare time, I enjoy working out as little as possible, serving on the board of the Utah Pride Center, chairing the Salt Lake City Human Rights Commission, volunteering for different candidates and causes, and falling asleep watching movies.

Anita Lui

Following graduation from Cottonwood, I went to Westminster College and studied developmental psychology. While at Westminster, I was elected as the Director of Clubs and Organizations, and had the opportunity to work with the Board of Directors, President of the College, Lt. Governor, and many clubs on campus. After graduating from Westminster, I went to the University of Utah to study substance abuse counseling. Since finishing the program, I had the opportunity to work at the Salt Lake County jail as a case manager for their substance abuse program, and then moved on to working with an outpatient treatment center where I am currently the Program Director and substance abuse counselor. When not working I enjoy volunteering, cooking, baking, traveling, and hang out with criminals. (Just joking on that last one.) In August, I will begin earning my master of social work at University of Southern California.