Innovation High School: Decision in middle school helped Joseph Lemmond find excitement in learning

Thanks to a life-changing decision he made almost seven years ago, Innovation High School senior Joseph Lemmond doesn’t have to wonder what might have been.

Lemmond had already begun to feel disengaged from his classroom instruction in elementary school he said, and focusing was becoming difficult because he either didn’t understand the work or wasn’t interested in learning it.

“My grades were decent,” he said, “and it was hard to communicate to my parents how I was feeling. When I talked with them, they wanted to help, but they weren’t sure how to. My attitude was that if I’m not going to use something, why bother learning it?”

That’s around the time Lemmond’s father saw an advertisement for Pride Prep, the now-closed charter program which was a middle-school companion to Innovation High, describing the school’s mission as “challenging students to use knowledge and skills in a way that prepares them for real life, blending formal and informal learning.”

And that seemed to be right up Lemmond’s alley.

“It sounded perfect,” he remembered. “We took a tour and then put my name in the admissions lottery. I still started sixth grade at my old school, but transferred to Pride Prep after a couple weeks. I was excited right away. How the school was shaped, the actual construction, the diversity with kids from anywhere and everywhere.

“The teachers were totally professional, but we were able to call them by their first name, and it was easy to establish great relationships and establish a level of trust very quickly. The whole experience brought out a level of confidence in me I hadn’t known I had.”

That positive experience extended into Lemmond’s enrollment at Innovation, where his confidence allowed him to explore new interests and nurture old ones. One example was his venture into music, which began during his sophomore year.

“As a kid, I had always wanted to be a musician,” he said. “My parents got me my first guitar a couple years ago, and I went from being scared and quiet at first to being really comfortable. Now, playing in front of people is like public speaking to me.

“I’ve always been an outgoing guy, but at Innovation, I’ve stepped up to be a leader. Before I went to Pride Prep and then Innovation, I didn’t see many of my best qualities. If I hadn’t made that decision, I might be that guy sitting in his parents’ basement playing video games all day.”

His counselor at Innovation, Jesse Dhillon, raves about Lemmond.

“It is difficult to list everything Joseph does in a day because he does so much. Besides his music, he runs sound and lighting for concerts and plays. He has excelled in our Construction program, helping to build sets for plays and even fixing things around the building. He is a skilled auto mechanic and often spends his weekends helping to fix cars. He achieved the rank of Eagle Scout this spring and is a member of our Outdoor Leadership Academy.”

Lemmond will attend WyoTech trade school in Wyoming beginning July 1, majoring in diesel technology and minoring in high-performance power trains. His Construction instructor had invited WyoTech representatives to make a presentation, and Lemmond was sold right away.

“I think that my most important core value is that creativity leads to everything,” Lemmond said. “I’ve become well-rounded in so many aspects of my life, in leadership, work, self-discipline, critical thinking. I didn’t see my potential, and Pride Prep and Innovation helped me to realize who I could be.”