Bear Lake senior hopes to expand his ‘sphere of influence,’ make the world a better place

MONTPELIER — Tommy Bomsta is a senior at Bear Lake High School. He’s the school’s student body president, splitting his time between those responsibilities, theater, choir and band.

“I think one of my greatest strengths is that I am motivated by positive — the desire to make positive change,” Bomsta said.

Since he was young, Bomsta said, his mother has taught him that, to make a difference in the world, he has to develop a large “sphere of influence.” That is among the reasons he has tried to be involved in as many organizations, and with as many other people, as possible.

“I’m always looking to make my sphere bigger,” he said.

In addition to singing, the self-proclaimed lover of music plays the trumpet, guitar and piano.

He can also be found on stage, where he has been a part of Bear Lake’s theater club since he was the tech guy handling the music his freshman year. As a sophomore, he played Weisel from “Newsies,” and he has not voluntarily left the stage since.

“I love being on the stage,” Bomsta said. “I know this is dramatic to say, but I’m a theater kid — I was born for the stage. … I just love showing off something I worked hard to figure out how to do.”

He said he likes the energetic and animated characters — think Jim Carrey.

When he does leave the stage, Bomsta puts on one of his other hats, including being the student body president.

He said he ran last year because he figured it would make for good resume fodder in the future.

“But then, over the summer, I realized … this is an opportunity to actually make a change for a lot more people than I would normally be able to,” he said.

While he had many things he wanted to accomplish, Bomsta’s jam-packed schedule forced him to focus on the requirements more than changes. But, with a few months left in the role, Bomsta knows there is still time to leave his mark on the school — to expand his sphere of influence.

Before he leaves Bear Lake High, Bomsta said he would like to establish a way for the school to approach mental health issues among its students.

And when he does finally leave, Bomsta hopes to serve an LDS mission. He has always wanted to serve his church in Ukraine — saying he loves the culture — but said right now may not be the ideal time for that journey.

After the mission, Bomsta plans to attend college, either BYU or Utah State University, and study microbiology.

“I love germs — everything about them is so awesome,” he said.

He also expects to pursue acting as a hobby, rather than a career.

Leaving Bear Lake, Bomsta added, will be difficult, as he will go without the sphere of influence he has established. But, he welcomes the task of building a new one elsewhere and growing that one to the point the two meet.