As seniors hurriedly complete last-minute core requirements to graduate, the Associated Students of the University of Utah 2002 graduation committee has been hard at work securing this year’s commencement speaker: Donny Osmond’s neighbor’s niece.
The designated speaker, a Chelsea S. Mosier from Provo., was allegedly selected after a 12-hour deliberation among the senior class graduation committee.
“We were really careful in the process,” said Senior Class President Clara Pugsley. “We just wanted to make this year’s graduation ceremony the greatest, and we needed a speaker with enough hype and character to achieve that.”
“It was a tough decision,” committee member Bryce Carter said of the 12-hour process. “Fortunately we had enough pizza [provided by student fees] to get us by.”
Among other candidates, the graduation committee considered Raquelle Malone, wife of Jazz Player Karl Malone, Kurt Bestor and Matt Canham.
“We decided Mosier was, by far, the best choice. I mean, Utah is all about the Osmonds,” Carter said.
Mosier, a former graduate from the U’s architecture program, accepted the invitation late last Friday.
“We’re really excited about this,” Pugsley told reporters Sunday. “Every year, [students] want a real public official, someone really exciting to hear… I think Mosier’s our woman.”
Although Mosier has never met Donny Osmond, one of the most famous 1970s performers Utah has ever produced, she has allegedly seen him on several occasions.
“Knowing the Osmonds has had a really profound influence in my life,” Mosier said. “I think it has really shaped me as an individual…made me the architect I am today.”
Mosier cited multiple occasions when she would visit her uncle’s house for barbecues and family gatherings.
“Donny and his family would be, like, right inside their house,” she said. “Sometimes you could see him through the fence.”
While Mosier acknowledges the life-long excitement of being an Osmond family acquaintance, she freely admits the pressure and hardships that fame can bring.
“It’s been really hard,” she said. “When you know the Osmonds, people hold such high expectations of you…I certainly can say I know how the Kennedys must feel.”
Students and faculty are invited to hear Mosier share her inspiring story at the graduation ceremony, to take place May 10 in Rice-Eccles Stadium at 10 a.m.
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