RIVERTON, Utah — A student in the Jordan School District will soon receive his high school diploma after overcoming numerous challenges and obstacles.
Colby Whittington is a student at Bingham High School who takes additional courses at the Jordan Academy for Technology and Careers (JATC).
The teen who originally hails from Macon, Georgia, moved to Utah after his mother passed away in a car accident. “It was really rough. It changed my life,” he said. “I never had a dad so I was kind of on my own.” He moved to Utah to live with relatives, got a job at a restaurant, and found the barbering program at JATC.
“I think the best thing for Colby is, he just has a no-quit kind of attitude,” said Emily Williams, Colby’s counselor at Bingham High School.
Colby flourished in the barbering courses. “I love that he is going to leave here with a skill,” Williams said. “He has a job that he can start making money right away.”
While completing his high school courses, Colby earned the hours needed to qualify for a barber license. Soon, he will take the licensing test. That test will come after he walks down the aisle to receive his diploma.
Three years after experiencing unimaginable trauma, he is achieving his goals. "One of my mom’s last wishes for me was to graduate, and I promised her I would,” Colby said. “I will be the first in my family to graduate.”
He hopes to secure a job as a barber and dreams of owning his own shop.
Colby is ready to face the challenges of life after high school with the same no-quit attitude that guided him to earning his diploma. “I just wanted to show that no matter how hard something is you can fight through it and step to the next level,” he said.
JATC offers low cost haircuts to members of the public at a fraction of the cost of professional salons and barber shops. Those services allow students to earn some of the hours required to obtain a license.
