Alta Band Teacher Honored by Sandy City as Mentor of the Year

Caleb Shabestari has made it a personal goal to make his bandroom at Alta High an environment “where students can come and just feel at home.” 

“Music does something for kids,” said Shabestari, a 2008 Alta High graduate who returned to teach music at the Sandy-based home of the Hawks after graduating in music education from the University of Utah. “It gives them an outlet to share their emotions they cannot share verbally.  It gives them a class period to just relax and kind of let loose a little bit.”

Shabestari’s dedication to helping students find the best parts of themselves through music is among the reasons he was chosen as the 2025 Mentor of the Year by Sandy City.

The honor was presented as part of the annual One Sandy Awards, which recognize community members, businesses, and organizations that positively impact the city’s residents. 

“I knew I wanted to be a music teacher based on my experiences of playing in this band 20-plus years ago, when I was here (as a student,)” said Shabestari, Alta’s director of instrumental music. “I wanted to be the teacher who could give that to my students.” 

Sandy City handed out the Sandy One awards at an April 8 ceremony — which, coincidentally, was the night of Alta High’s Spring Orchestra Concert. True to form, Shabestari chose to be with his students at the concert instead of going to the event to receive the honor.

Perhaps such student-focused decisions are precisely why Shabestari was chosen for the Mentor of the Year award.

Recently, Sandy Mayor Monica Zoltanski visited Alta High to present the award to Shabestari, who also directs Alta’s award-winning marching band and drumline, in front of Hawk music students, who cheered for their teacher. 

Mayor Zoltanski presented the award to Shabestari in Alta High’s new Music Hall. 

“My favorite part of my job is connecting with my students,” Shabestari says in the video created to announce the Sandy One Award. “I get to see them audition as a 13- or 14-year-old kid, and then see their progress every day until they walk across the stage at graduation.  That is super fulfilling.”