When he was a high school student, Jevahjire France spoke at the opening of a new community technology lab dedicated to serving South Salt Lake’s youth.

France, who was a member of Cottonwood High School’s robotics team, knows the challenges many students face accessing the latest technology. During that October 2019 event, France expressed appreciation for the tech center’s establishment and praised the larger community center for hosting the lab.

That community center — dating back more than 100 years — hosts many of South Salt Lake’s activities and events. However, France was bothered that the community center is named in honor of Christopher Columbus.

In August 2020, he wrote a letter to South Salt Lake City Council members asking them to consider a name change.

“In all honesty,” France wrote in the letter, “the name of [the community center] was one that I could never find myself in as a youth.”

“As a young immigrant just like many in South Salt Lake, I have always wondered if the members of the council of this city ever question how a young immigrant or refugee feels knowing that he is frequenting a library named after an oppressor not too different from the one(s) they or their parents were fleeing from back home?”

France, now a student at Salt Lake Community College, moved from Haiti to the United States in 2016 when he was 13. As a high school student taking part in the robotics team, France formed a connection with Promise SSL, a city initiative that provides community and after-school programs with an academic focus.

The Best Buy Teen Tech Center, a Promise SSL project, serves a diverse population, France said, noting he believes the name of the community center should reflect that as well.

Following France’s letter, the City Council tasked the Youth City Council, a group comprised of local high school students, to come up with a name change proposal.

Edward Lopez, an adviser to the YCC, said that while France’s letter initiated the current process, other members of the community had previously supported changing the center’s name.

(Cristian Martinez | Amplify Utah) Jevahjire France, left, and Edward Lopez are pushing South Salt Lake to rename the Columbus Community Center. France's letter has kickstarted a public process.

They provided a finished proposal in April 2021 and outlined the reasons for a name change. They have the support of 17 organizations in and around South Salt Lake.

The English Skills Learning Center, a nonprofit that uses the community center to provide English classes to non-native speakers, was among the supportive organizations.

“When we choose the names of buildings, parks and other community spaces, we are making a public statement about the historical figures we honor and value, and in the process, we may be further silencing already marginalized voices,” wrote Katie Donoviel, the learning center’s executive director, in a letter to Mayor Cherie Wood and the City Council.

Other groups that wrote letters of support for a name change include the Utah Refugee Connection, United Way of Salt Lake and Catholic Community Services.

The proposal also lists three potential new names for the center: Amani, the Swahili word for “peace,” bridges and promise. Lopez said these names are only suggestions, but he noted that the YCC supports a “value based” name rather than naming the center after an individual.

“South Salt Lake is one of the most diverse cities in the whole state,” Lopez said. “We have refugees and immigrants here from dozens and dozens of countries.”

According to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau, South Salt Lake’s percentage of foreign-born residents is 24.6%.

“The city talks about being an inviting and inclusive space,” Lopez said. “So, we want to show the community that we invite to live here that we do believe that. We believe that the center can be more representative.”

The City Council held its first and, thus far, only discussion of renaming the Columbus Community Center in July. The meeting attracted concerned residents.

“We look at the great things that people did in their past, and that is why we honor them — because they did great things that changed the world,” said resident Austen Gee. “That is why we honor Columbus.”

Fred Conlon, another resident, also wanted the center to keep its name.

“There are those who say that Columbus doesn’t live up to our modern values and morals — that is true,” Conlon said to the council. “But it is also true that without Columbus our modern values might not very well exist, so I am in favor of keeping the name of the Columbus center.”

Eight residents spoke at that meeting, all expressing opposition to a name change. The council members pushed the decision to an unspecified date to get feedback from a “wide representation” of the community.

Lopez said some people do not feel comfortable appearing at council meetings, and that often includes people from underrepresented communities.

“[A council meeting] is an intimidating platform and not accessible to everyone,” Lopez said.

Council member Sharla Bynum noted during the meeting, there is discussion of implementing an app to survey residents, predicting a roll-out in a “month or two.” As of Oct. 25, the council had not yet introduced a survey app.

Wood, the mayor, has in the past supported the efforts of the YCC, but declined to comment prior to a decision on the center’s name change.

Lopez and France encourage residents to reach out to their respective council representatives.

“Your voice, especially as a youth, matters,” Lopez said, “because you are the ones coming up and who will be the decision makers... The youth are the ones who will be leading our community in the future.”

Cristian Martinez wrote this story as a journalism student at Salt Lake Community College. It is published as part of a collaborative including nonprofits Amplify Utah and The Salt Lake Tribune.

###

NOTE TO MEDIA PARTNERS PUBLISHING WORK

We also request organizations include the following text either at the beginning or end of the story text :This story is jointly published by nonprofits Amplify Utah and [Your Media Organization's Name] to elevate diverse perspectives in local media through emerging journalism. Cristian Martinez wrote this story as a journalism student at Salt Lake Community College. For more stories from Amplify Utah, visit amplifyutah.org/use-our-work.

Valene Peratrovich begins her Sunday morning show on Salt Lake City community radio station KRCL with an on-air land acknowledgement.

“We honor the original ancestors of this land and also offer respect to our other tribal member communities, and we acknowledge the history to cultivate respect for and advocate with our Indigenous communities still connected to this land,” says Peratrovich, who is known to listeners as “Valene MC.”

Valene Peratrovich begins her Sunday morning show on Salt Lake City community radio station KRCL with an on-air land acknowledgement.

“We honor the original ancestors of this land and also offer respect to our other tribal member communities, and we acknowledge the history to cultivate respect for and advocate with our Indigenous communities still connected to this land,” says Peratrovich, who is known to listeners as “Valene MC.”

Originally from Alaska, Peratrovich’s Indigenous ancestry comes from three separate tribes. She has lived all over the West Coast of the United States and now holds many titles, including radio host, KRCL staff production assistant, Native outreach coordinator and Salt Lake Community College student – all on top of being a mother of two.

Ask her how she’s done it all, and she likely will point to her Indigenous ancestry and genuine love of music.

Healing family trauma

Growing up in Anchorage, Peratrovich was heavily influenced by her family’s Native history.

Her grandparents were Native boarding school students who experienced abuse at the hands of the teachers, nuns and missionaries who ran the schools. The forced removal of Native children from their homes in the late 1800s and early 1900s in Alaska started a cycle of generational trauma that trickled down Peratrovich’s family tree.

In Peratrovich’s eyes, it ends with her.

Peratrovich was originally on a pre-medicine track during her undergraduate studies at Oregon State University. She switched to family sciences, she said, in order to learn more about herself and break the cycle of abuse she personally experienced.

“It sounds funny, but almost in an academic sense, I was learning how to be a parent,” Peratrovich said. “Part of breaking that cycle was healing myself, which is partially why college took [16 years] for me.”

As Peratrovich likes to say, she took the “scenic route through college.” While working in a lab as part of her bachelor’s at Oregon State, she and those around her were reminded of her gift of gab, which she remembers being chastised for as far back as elementary school.

“I’ve always loved to talk to people and ask questions,” Peratrovich said. “I found that even when I worked in the lab, I’d get my work done, but I loved to talk and socialize, … so I knew that [the lab work] wasn’t something I wanted to do forever.”

Peratrovich left the lab behind in 2010, around the same time her husband left the military. Four years later, the couple had a major life change — their first child — and decided to move to Salt Lake City.

‘180-degree’ change

Once in Salt Lake City, Peratrovich continued to work on her bachelor’s degree online, finishing it remotely in 2016. However, she said, she wasn’t happy with the odd jobs she was working, and yearned to find a new direction.

In 2021, Peratrovich enrolled at SLCC as a radio and TV production major, and almost immediately, she found the college’s classes to be a better fit.

“I went to school at a big university in huge lecture rooms,” Peratrovich said. “At SLCC, people are there because they actually do want to teach, not just because they’re being funded by research.”

In her first semester at SLCC, Peratrovich wrote a Native-focused article about the use of Indigenous mascots in sports that, through the nonprofit Amplify Utah, was published in The Salt Lake Tribune. The story’s subject matter grabbed the attention of Lara Jones, executive producer of “RadioACTive,” KRCL’s weekday activism show.

“When I began to work with [Valene],” said Jones, “It became clear — she can do what I do. Why not pass the microphone and see what she wants to do?”

Jones invited Peratrovich to host a “RadioACTive” Thanksgiving Special, which became “Exploring the Truths of Thanksgiving.” It aired on Thanksgiving Day 2021. Alongside Peratrovich, a distinguished panel of Indigenous leaders and community members discussed Native views of the popular American holiday.

Jones called it “a perfect distillation of what KRCL wants to do. … [We want to] empower storytellers. Especially those who don’t otherwise have access to the microphone, but are ready to step up to the microphone and knock it out of the park.”

Peratrovich’s first effort as a radio talk-show host earned her recognition. The Thanksgiving Special won first place in the public affairs/talk show category at the Utah Society of Professional Journalists’s 2022 contest.

“I finally got a chance to talk about Natives the way I want to talk about Natives,” Peratrovich said. “It was sharing what Thanksgiving means, or non-Thanksgiving, and Indigenizing and telling truths about what Thanksgiving is from different perspectives of people from different Native nations.”

A continuing media journey

Peratrovich’s Thanksgiving show solidified her switch from family sciences to media storytelling.

Now, as production assistant for “RadioACTive” and co-host of “Living the Circle of Life,” Peratrovich said she strives to entertain and inform – and tops it with her passion for music.

By focusing most of her show on contemporary Native artists like Ya Tseen, Peratrovich said she hopes to break the cycle of Native art being pigeon-holed as something from the past, or that is only traditional.

Carl Moore, a Utah-based advocate for Native issues and co-founder of both Pandos and SLC Air Protectors, said he thinks there needs to be a major shift in the way Native people are recognized today.

“We don’t want to be seen as this ‘historical’ Native American that gets romanticized and fetishized. It locks us into a box, into the past, and it makes us only valid as Indigenous people if we present ourselves in that past,” Moore explained. “It does damage to us, so it’s important [to recognize] that Indigenous people do change and develop.”

People should not forget the past, Moore said, but balance it with an openness of the present. “Our kids should have that ability to do things that speak to them, [whether contemporary or traditional],” he said.

Peratrovich curates her lineup of music in this way, made with the wisdom of ages past, mixed with the common vitality of modern artists.

“Music is how I tell people I love them,” Peratrovich said, smiling.

In only one year, Peratrovich received her associate degree in radio and TV production from SLCC. While in the program, she realized that she also loves being behind the camera, so she’s now pursuing another associate degree in film production.

Looking forward, “Valene MC” said she hopes to keep expressing her diverse history and shed light on contemporary Native culture through media involvement. Public, independent radio is the perfect platform to do so, she said.

“I’m always looking for folks to pass the microphone to,” said Jones. “But [I’m also looking] to say: there’s the next person. The next generation. Valene is eager to tell stories in a variety of formats and I can’t wait to see what she does next.”

“I want to create this vision [of Native culture], where it’s just so normal,” Peratrovich said.

Catch “Valene MC” as she hosts “Living the Circle of Life,” every other Sunday, 7-10 a.m., on KRCL-90.9 FM, or listen live at KRCL.org.

Kyle Forbush wrote this story as a journalism student at Salt Lake Community College. It is published as part of a collaborative including nonprofits Amplify Utah and The Salt Lake Tribune.

###

NOTE TO MEDIA PARTNERS PUBLISHING WORK

We also request organizations include the following text either at the beginning or end of the story text :This story is jointly published by nonprofits Amplify Utah and [Your Media Organization's Name] to elevate diverse perspectives in local media through emerging journalism. Kyle Forbush wrote this story as a journalism student at Salt Lake Community College. For more stories from Amplify Utah, visit amplifyutah.org/use-our-work.

This story is jointly published by nonprofits Amplify Utah and The Salt Lake Tribune to elevate diverse perspectives in local media through student journalism.

Soloau Te’o knew a shot at a national title was possible.

“We’ve been working to get into the Final Four for a couple years,” said Te’o, who plays for the Utah Vipers women’s rugby team. “We made it pretty close.”

The best the Vipers had done during Te’o’s 11 years with the team, though, was breaking into the round of 16 at various levels of national competition. But finally, 16 years after the club was created, and having ascended to the highest division of club rugby in the United States, everything seemed to be coming together for a championship season.

In 2024, the Vipers went undefeated in Rocky Mountain Rugby league play and swept the Gulf Coast Super Regional, earning a spot in the USA Club Rugby Division 1 semifinals. After a commanding win in the semis, the opportunity to take the national title was finally within reach.

But that’s where their momentum stalled out.

Now, Te’o and her team have another chance. They’ll face the Houston Athletic Rugby Club on Friday in Indianapolis. A win there will set the Vipers up for a potential championship rematch with the Northern Virginia Women’s Rugby Club, which will face the Minneapolis Metropolis Valkyries in its semi-final match.

And the way Te’o sees it, her team has “no choice but to win.”

‘Just trying to learn the game’

Head coaches David Shelledy and Olive Ahotaeiloa founded the Vipers in 2009, aiming to give teenage girls in and around South Jordan a shot at playing a sport that most high schools in Utah don’t sponsor. After a couple years, though, the coaches realized their team was the last one many of those girls would play for.

“There’s a lot of them that don’t go to college, and so they can’t play on a college team,” Shelledy said. “And the younger girls were done with high school and they wanted to keep playing.”

So, Shelledy said, the organization decided to shift its demographic to help adult women keep the sport in their lives. While many of the team’s players have athletic backgrounds, some didn’t grow up playing the game much, if at all.

“It was a new sport to me,” said Tamasailau Tavita, who joined the Vipers in 2014. “I didn’t even know there was even a D1 level. I was just trying to learn the game, and that was my main focus.”

Tavita said she didn’t even consider that playing in a national championship could be a possibility back then. And as recently as two seasons ago — when both the Vipers’ senior team and its D2 affiliate, the Salt City Slugs, went winless in Rocky Mountain Rugby play — it didn’t seem like it was in the cards.

But last year something shifted.

The Vipers outscored their opponents by an average of 33 points during the regular 2024 season. That energy continued in the semifinal match, where 18 seconds after kicking off to the Pittsburgh Forge, Utah stripped the ball at the 22-meter line, and Vaimalo Manuo took a rumbling run through the center of the pitch for the game’s first score. The Vipers never trailed, and their 33-21 victory earned them a spot in their first national title game against Northern Virginia.

(Payton Mckee) Apa'au Mailau of the Utah Vipers, left, takes on a player from the Seattle Rugby Club in a match on April 27, 2025.

‘It sucked, to be honest’

Although the Vipers had overpowered their competition in the regular season, they’d picked up some injuries along the way — and their semifinal game brought even more.

“It sucked, to be honest,” Tavita said. “We didn’t have a full squad at the time, and a few of us were playing a little injured because of our first game.”

The Vipers went into the title game in Round Rock, Texas, with two fewer players on their bench than their opponents. Tough luck came down on them again in the 20th minute, when Breauna Nez was helped off the field by team trainers.

Even with short numbers, Tavita said, “I just think everybody went out and gave it their all.”

But that wasn’t enough. The Vipers didn’t put any points on the board until the final minutes of the first half. Another 40 minutes of rugby later, they’d fallen 44-12.

(Nahe Kahala-Giron) The Utah Vipers women's rugby team celebrates its win against the Seattle Rugby Club at the Pacific Super Regional Championship on April 27, 2025.

‘It was like a 360’

Tavita said the shortfall in the championship finals was hard — especially because the title wasn’t the only thing on the line in competition.

“A lot of us are paying to play,” she said. “We have a few sponsors, but they’re like sponsoring gear, not so much like funds — and that’s where we struggle a lot, is funds to raise as a team.”

That hurdle aside, though, Tavita said things will be different when her team arrives in Indianapolis.

In the midst of a national spike in players for USA Club Rugby, the Vipers’ team leaders said they now have the numbers they need. Tavita thinks the team’s “hunger” has changed since they came so close to the national title and walked away empty-handed. And Te’o agreed.

“Everybody’s mindsets just kind of changed. It was like a 360 immediately after that loss,” she said. “It was like, ‘Let’s just get back into that mode, get in the gym, do what we got to do on our offseason.’”

Shelledy noticed the change, too. Now, he said, his players understand what it takes to make it to and win the finals. “We just have a really good team this year, a good solid team going into it,” he said. “They’re excited, and they’re really driven to get there, so I think they’ll take it this year.”

(Courtesy Utah Vipers) The Utah Vipers are an all-women rugby team, ranging in age from 18 to 52, according to Head Coach David Shelledy. The team was established 16 years ago to give players the opportunity to play at a higher level when they could no longer compete for school teams.

‘Rugby is there’

Te’o said it was hard to come home without the win — and so this year, she said, her team is planning on “taking everything.”

But for these women, it’s not just about the title and the trophy.

“Rugby [is] for everybody. It doesn’t matter your age, doesn’t matter your size, doesn’t matter what you look like, what job you have, whatever,” Te’o said. “We want it to stick around forever, and this is our way of contributing to the sport.”

Te’o said many of the women on the team are moms, and almost all of the players have other full-time jobs. For many of them, rugby is an outlet to take time for themselves and find support in a tight-knit sisterhood.

“Where life gets in the way, rugby is there,” she said. “I hope it just means that we can grow the sport, so more and more people will look into it, look into us, and want to participate, and want to bring the same thing that we bring to our community.”

Tavita also said that winning the national title is, in no small part, about showing other women in Utah what’s possible.

“The bigger picture is recruiting more and more women and younger women,” she said. “There’s so many. There’s so much talent. They can carry on the legacy, as some of us vets are able to just either coach or step down. I mean, it’s carrying on the legacy of the Vipers.”

The Utah Vipers are soliciting donations to support their travel to Indianapolis via Venmo (@ladyvipersrugby) and Cashapp ($ladyvipersrugby). 

Elle Crossley wrote this story as a journalism student at the University of Utah for a capstone course focused on women’s sports. It is published as part of a collaborative including nonprofits Amplify Utah and The Salt Lake Tribune.