Utah students with special needs to perform in Rose Parade

Dec 8, 2021, 4:31 PM

Two Mountain Creek Middle School students with special needs, Jaymi Bonner and Emma Figueroa, were chosen to go to the Rose Parade. Photo: Jordan School District

BY ELIZA CRAIG

Former Digital Content Producer

SOUTH JORDAN, Utah — Two Mountain Creek Middle School students with special needs will represent Utah in the Rose Parade.

Every year, the Rose Parade kicks off the start of the Rose Bowl, the football game that pits the champion of the Pac-12 and the Big 10 conferences against each other. Traditionally, it attracts the largest crowd of any college bowl game. This year, the Rose Bowl is set to take place on Jan. 1, 2022.

Rose Parade to feature Utah students

This year’s Rose Bowl game is especially meaningful for many Utahns because the University of Utah Utes will face Ohio State in the game.

The two students selected to represent Utah in the Rose Parade are middle school students from South Jordan.

Jaymi Bonner is an 8th-grade student who plays the violin. Emma Figueroa is a 9th grader who plays trumpet. Both students attend Mountain Creek Middle School in the Jordan School District.

The Jordan School District offered details about this “experience of a lifetime” for their students.

United Sound music education program

In a Facebook post, the district explained the performance opportunity for Bonner and Figueroa is a part of a program called “United Sound.” Bonner, Figueroa, and all of the other students chosen from across the country are members of the program.

The United Sound program focuses on partnering students with special needs with peer tutors who encourage them as they practice their instruments and play for their school bands. Bonner and Figueroa’s peer tutor will join them in Pasadena in January for the Rose Parade.