For many high school students, social media and hashtags are just a part of everyday life. Nearly every teenager has at least one social media account that they use as either an outlet, a method of expression or to keep in contact with friends.

For Hillcrest High School students, however, social media helped them to band together, comfort each other, gather support from the community and find strength.

On the evening of Wednesday, May 20, 17-year-old Hunter Kelson and 16-year-old Cheyenne Bagley were driving near 9600 South and 700 East with another 15-year-old passenger when their Plymouth Neon was hit on the driver’s side by a Jeep. 

The 15-year-old passenger was taken to a nearby hospital with minor injuries, but Kelson and Bagley were both killed. The high school, as well as the community, was rocked and lives were forever changed.

Friends, family members, faculty and classmates were shocked and devastated by the loss of two such young and bright students. The use of the hashtag #huskystrong allowed students and others to show their support and let mourning students know that they were not alone.

On Friday, May 22, the halls of Hillcrest High School were a flood of green as students proudly dressed in their school’s color. Other local high schools, and even members of the community, also donned their Husky green that day: a display of solidarity in the wake of tragedy. An entire community of people banded together, showing what it really means to be #huskystrong.