This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
In a first, Utah Gov. Gary Herbert spoke to students across the state Wednesday morning in a live broadcast about the importance of continuing their educations after high school.
The speech, which lasted about seven minutes, was broadcast live in 110 Utah high schools Wednesday morning via the Utah Education Network, according to the Governor's Office. His speech focused mainly on urging students to continue beyond high school. In recent years, a number of groups have embraced the goal of 66 percent of Utah adults holding postsecondary certificates or college degrees by 2020 in order to meet future workforce needs.
"My key message today is if you want a good job, get a good education," Herbert told students during the broadcast, which was filmed in Blanding as part of the governor's Rural Jobs Tour.
He told students they can make more money and be more competitive by earning degrees beyond high school. "Education will provide you with the knowledge and skills you need to support yourselves and your future families," he said.
At four high schools across the state Murray, Orem, Rich and Emery one classroom had cameras that allowed students to ask questions of Herbert after the speech. A student at Orem High, Herbert's alma mater, asked Herbert what he was like in high school.
"In hindsight, as I look back, I wish I'd applied myself better," Herbert said."I wish I'd developed better study habits."
Herbert attended Brigham Young University but left to join the Utah National Guard and later went on to found a real estate brokerage firm and a child care service, never finishing his college degree. Herbert didn't mention that during his address to students Wednesday, though Mark Durfey, the Murray High government teacher whose class watched the broadcast, said many of his students already knew and had asked him about it before the governor spoke.
After the speech, several of Durfey's students said they appreciated Herbert's message.
"It was really important for me to hear it from him because he's the governor," said Murray senior Janae Knighton, who said she plans to go to Salt Lake Community College to study criminal justice or forensic science. "He's really successful."
Murray senior Carissa Lords said the governor's message might have been a wake-up call for some students.
"I think it's cool to see people outside of our parents and teachers and counselors concerned about our future," said Lords, who's planning to go to the University of Utah and study to become a doctor.
Herbert's speech met with little concern from Utah parents, some of whom were critical of President Barack Obama when he started giving back-to-school, mid-day speeches to students several years ago. In response to those criticisms, some Utah school districts sent notices to parents about that Obama speech, and hundreds of Utah students opted out, though fears that the president would use it to promote a policy agenda proved unfounded.
This year, neither Obama nor Herbert's speeches raised much concern among parents. Granite School District did not send notices home about either speech, said Ben Horsley, district spokesman. The Alpine District treated both speeches the same, asking schools to send home notices explaining their decisions to show them or not, still allowing parents to opt-out, said Rhonda Bromley, Alpine spokeswoman.
And Canyons sent notices home to parents about the Obama speech this year with opt-out forms, but did not send notices home about Herbert's speech, which the district couldn't show live because of testing conflicts but is allowing schools to show later. Canyons spokesman Jeff Haney said a notice was sent home for the Obama speech because the district asked all schools to show it, while it was left up to individual schools whether to show Herbert's speech.