The Uintah High Teen Center was honored during Thursday night's Vernal Area Chamber of Commerce Gala with the Business of the Year award in the Government, Education and Community Leadership category.
Principal Amanda Brown, Vice Principal Stephanie Bills, and UHS Teen Center coordinators Karen Laub and Janet Mitchell were on hand to accept the award, along with Uintah School District Superintendent Dr. Rick Woodford and Business Administrator Troy Timothy.
The Uintah High School Teen Center, founded in 2025, is a student-focused resource hub dedicated to supporting high school-aged youth by meeting their basic needs. Located inside UHS, the center provides free access to essential resources, including showers, laundry facilities, study rooms, a food pantry, hygiene products, clothing, snacks, and school supplies. Between Sept. 11 and Nov. 13, 2025, students checked in to use one or more of the center’s services over 2,500 times.
The Teen Center’s mission is to remove barriers to learning by meeting students’ basic needs with compassion, dignity, and respect. Staff members intentionally create a welcoming, inclusive environment where teens feel valued, connected, and supported. Through free access to critical resources and individualized care, the center promotes stability, opportunity, and a sense of belonging for every student it serves.
Since its founding, the center has grown through meaningful partnerships and student-led initiatives. In the fall, the center partnered with the UHS FBLA Club to host a successful food and hygiene drive, resulting in donations that directly served students and families. In November, the center and FBLA also provided Thanksgiving dinner boxes for six families. In December, the UHS Heritage Club sold Secret Santa gifts, donating the proceeds to support the center’s services.
The center has also received donations from local businesses and organizations, including Bolder Way Forward, alumni from the UHS Classes of 1969 and 1992, Utah Power Credit Union, UHS Seminary students, and the Current Topics Club. These contributions allowed the staff to better meet student needs and extend the center’s impact beyond the school by regularly sending food and hygiene supplies home for teens and their families.
Teen Center facilitators Janet Mitchell, Karen Laub, and Vanity Caldwell focus on building positive relationships with students by meeting them where they are. UHS Vice Principal Carissa Magee oversees the center with a strong student-first approach, ensuring that meeting student needs is at the heart of all efforts. In the future, the staff plans to expand the center’s offerings to help teens prepare for life after high school, while staying true to the center’s core mission.
The Uintah High Teen Center was made possible through a $40,000 matching grant from The Policy Project and a $250,000 grant from the state of Utah. Additional costs were covered through Uintah School District capital fund savings and waived fees from VCBO Architecture. The center occupies a remodeled space within the high school that became available after classes moved to the UHS Agricultural Sciences building during the 2024-25 school year.
To learn more about the UHS Teen Center or for donation information, visit https://www.uintah.net/o/uhs/page/uhs-teen-center .