Juab County, Utah School Sees Graduating Class Of Two

A little high school in Juab County, Utah has this year’s smallest graduating class, with just two students set to be honored.

While many high schools will see hundreds of teenagers graduate this summer, the tiny West Desert High School in Partoun, one of many small towns in the west desert near the Nevada state line, came together on Friday to celebrate the achievements of its only two seniors: Trevor Timm and Austin Lewis. “Just me and my best friend,” Timm told KSL. “It’s really cool.”

His fellow graduate was equally thrilled about graduation. “I can’t believe it’s time already,” said Austin Lewis, the valedictorian of the pair. “We tried hard to see who would get the higher grades.”

Timm confessed, “I knew [Austin] was gonna get it. We’ve known each other since we were little kids growing up with each other.”

Such a tiny graduating class is perhaps not so unusual for West Desert High. The school has a total of 10 students, and these span grades seven through 12. More tiny graduation classes seem likely in the coming years.

“We are small, but we try to run it like any other school,” said Zachary Taylor, West Desert’s only teacher, who says he loves his job:

“I get to know (the students) one on one, versus a class of 500 where I maybe know a name but I don’t know who they are and where they’re from and what their interests are.”

It’s not all positives, however: Timm admits that in Partoun, dates for the senior prom can be tough to find:

“Well, all the girls here right now are my cousins, so I don’t date no one out here. If I want to date, I drive to town. That’s for sure.”