Sophia Park

         Sophia Jiyeon Park was born on the 22^nd of August, 2005 where she was greeted by a family of four. Starting her early life in California, she would later move with her family to Salt Lake City, UT and from there, she would make many friends and memories.

         Sophia was always interested in the world around her and her curiosity led her to often ask questions to those she knew. It often led her to be invested in topics that would interest her and she would love to do a small foray into those topics. In tandem with her curiosity was her love of stories. From large, grand, published works to smaller, simpler, self-made stories; Sophia would always be willing to listen to tales of all kinds and equally be willing to share them with the people around her. She was also interested in drawing, being influenced by animated media and the growing popularity of videos on online platforms, notably Youtube. She had, at one point in her school career, been involved in drawing and animating small videos for her school’s digital arts club.

         Her kind and compassionate nature meant that she was always willing to provide help to another whenever she thought that they needed it and, though she was a small fan of dark humor, she would find that she would be able to make fast friends with those around her. When she sought to assist in providing advice to her faraway friends, she always hoped that she could provide them with the words that they needed to her and she would always agonize when she could not.

         During the ongoing pandemic of Covid-19, she was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia during the end of May 2021, where the scans showed that a mass had grown beneath her chest in a length of 11 inches. She was admitted into Primary Children’s Hospital where she would be cared for by the healthcare professionals and would be discharged a month later as part of her treatment plan. While it was difficult for her transition into this stage of her life, she would manage and soon she would be able to re-attend school for her senior year of high school in the Fall of 2022. Being able to meet with friends again, she enjoyed school life and looked forward to the future, considering a path in Dental Hygiene, and trusting that with time and medication, she would be able to shake off the malady that ailed her, return to a more normal lifestyle, and maybe make a visit to the land of her ancestry. Sadly, she would be re-admitted into the hospital in the early Spring of 2023 where after complaining of chest pains and coughs, the doctors determined that her condition had relapsed and that another type of treatment had to begin. The chemotherapy lay waste to her body once more and unfortunately, they were unsuccessful at keeping the cancer cells at bay. She would be discharged from the hospital one last time, coming home for only a week before she would be re-admitted once more for one final attempt at treatment. The new experimental treatment would be put into place and while it seemed to have an effect, it was not enough and she would close out her battle with her condition on the 12^th of May, 2023, 10:45 AM.

         Sophia brought the people in her life much joy and with her passing, many have been stunned and grief-stricken with the sudden news as everyone believed that the effect of the experimental treatment was significant. It was only a week prior that she was able to graduate from high school with the help of her teachers, the school administration, and the school resource coordinator at Primary Children’s. Held in an auditorium inside the hospital, she was surrounded by her friends and colleagues at school and her caretakers as she received her diploma. Everyone was excited and elated that she would be able to move forward with life and her friends especially were excited that, while they would not be able to walk down the aisle together, they could all take the next step of life together.

         Sophia will be sorely missed by all those she touched with her nature and the world is all the sadder for it. She is survived by her parents and her two older siblings in Kearns. Know that you are loved, beloved child, and may you find fly towards clearer skies.