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Taylorsville Journal

And the winner is . . . kindness!

Jun 23, 2017 09:56AM ● By Jet Burnham

Tyson Eyre was named Alpha Ursa and received a statue of a grizzly bear and a lifetime pass to any CHHS event. (Layne Eyre)

By Jet Burnham | [email protected]

Kindness was the big winner at the Copper Hills High School awards assembly. Two students received top awards for their kind acts of service.

Logan Kearl was an unconventional recipient for the Spirit Award, which is traditionally given to the student who is the loudest and craziest supporter of the school. Kearl is a quiet kid who has never even attended a school football game. His school spirit was expressed as he held the door for students coming into the school. For the last two years, Kearl provided this simple act of service every single morning.

“It welcomes people into the school and shows that we care about each other,” he said. Kearl never expected an award. 

“It didn’t seem like anyone really noticed or that it didn’t make a big impact at the time.” 

But students did notice. 

Someone tweeted to Copper Hills, “Ya’ll gotta give a award or something to the kid that holds the door for everyone every morning.” Twitter erupted with likes and re-tweets.

"That one tweet led to a campaign to recognize Logan Kearl for a selfless act of kindness,” said Principal Todd Quarnberg.

Kearl was surprised and humbled by the recognition.

“It just shows how small things affect big things,” he said. 

Kearl’s mother hadn’t even known about his daily act of service. She was amazed that high school students chose to recognize someone for such a simple thing. 

“They don’t even know his name, but they just remember his kindness,” she said. She said he’s stayed positive despite being recently diagnosed with diabetes and has always focused on serving others.

Quarnberg was so impressed, he mentioned Kearl during his graduation address.

“Logan taught us small acts of selflessness are required to change the face of our society,” he said.

Tyson Eyre is also changing the world in small and simple ways by being the kind of person CHHS students aspire to be. Eyre was chosen as this year’s Alpha Ursa.

 “The Alpha Ursa is a top award given to a student who best exemplifies what it means to be a true Grizzly,” said Vice Principal Glen Varga. “Eyre is a top-notch kid who represents everything we stand for.” 

Eyre maintained a 4.0 GPA for the last six years and lettered in track. He also served as the SBO public relations officer and was active in PLT (Peer Leadership Team) and NHS (National Honors Society). Because he enjoys giving service, Eyre also volunteered in the special needs Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints seminary class. 

“They always brightened my day no matter how bad my day was going,” Eyre said of the friends he met there.

Eyre became especially close with his assigned “buddy,” Tyson Boyes, walking between classes together even when they no longer had class together.

Eyre invited Boyes to track practice, where Eyre pushed him in his wheelchair while training for cross-country events.

Eyre said he was pretty shy in middle school. Then someone made an effort to befriend him, which helped him gain social confidence. 

“Ever since then, I wanted to be that person for someone else,” he said. “I look for the people that don’t often get noticed by others.” All through his high school years, Eyre reached out to these quiet kids. His example influenced his friends to do the same.  

The impact of the simple service and kindness shown by both Eyre and Kearl has been felt by the school and the wider community.

Both young men have parents who taught them these traits. 

 “I taught my children to realize they are part of a family and part of a community,” Layne Eyre said. 

Kenielle Kearl encourages her kids to look for simple ways they can serve others each day. She knows there are a lot of young people who are worthy of recognition for the service they give.

“Anyone can hold the door open—but Logan chose to,” she said. “Anyone could have done that. Anyone could make an impact in other’s lives.”

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