TAYLORSVILLE, Utah — It was a unique type of graduation night at Utah State University's campus in Taylorsville.
The graduate in question is still in school, but on Tuesday night received a diploma representing something valuable: A second chance after making a youthful mistake.
McKay Sawyer is the latest student to graduate from the Granite School District’s peer-to-peer youth court.
Like many graduation ceremonies, this one had pomp, circumstance, and streamers. It was all aimed at celebrating students like Sawyer, who incur minor violations of the law but get a chance to learn from their mistakes.
Sawyer is a sophomore at Taylorsville High School and had a disorderly conduct citation. He said he wasn’t sure at first what to think of youth court.
“I was kind of nervous at first. I was like, 'I don’t really fully understand, like, what’s happening," he said. "But then I got in there and I was like, 'OK, this is kind of cool, I like what’s happening here.'”
It’s an opportunity for students like Sawyer and others in the Granite District to achieve a clean slate if they’re willing to admit what they did and make changes going forward.
Angie Peters is the program coordinator.
“You know what, maybe this kid doesn’t need to go through juvenile court — they just need another chance," she said. "They need to be held accountable but maybe in a slightly different way.”
That includes the student meeting with a peer youth court panel, comprised of fellow student volunteers like Olympus High School junior Ava Jones.
“I’m proud of every person that walks into this room," Jones said. "We, as teenagers, don’t realize how much influence we have over each other and how much change we can actually make.”
Olympus sophomore Ozzy Croft is another peer volunteer.
“People can change, super fast, in a good way. I’ve seen it," Croft said, "And it just makes me super happy to see them change like that.”
Peters says the student involvement is critical.
“That’s where the magic happens, is the youth," she said. "To watch their empathy and to watch them really dig in and think about the youth that is sitting before them and what that youth could use.”
Sawyer says it made him reflect on his disorderly conduct citation and decide it won’t happen again.
“They just wanted me to come back and serve with them, so I’ve been doing that a little bit," he sad, "And they wanted me to join the basketball team, so I joined that.”
His mom, Rebecca Sawyer, said it was a great alternative to juvenile court or a school suspension.
“Yeah, we were hoping it would be a good experience for him, hopefully to learn from, in a different way, a more productive way to deal with it rather than traditional fines," she said.
Peters said it’s rewarding for her and the students.
“Not only just restorative justice, but it was like restoring their self-esteem, restoring them to the community," she said.
