Skyline Congratulates its 2019 Sterling Scholar Nominees

The Sterling Scholar Award is a Utah scholarship that is awarded to high school seniors who display excellence in scholarship, leadership, and citizenship. This program is conducted in five independent areas throughout the state’s 40 school districts and 29 counties. Each school can nominate one student for each of the fourteen categories. There can only be one nominee per category and a student can only be nominated under one category.

Students get to choose what category they want to apply under, as they usually choose based on their interests. The fourteen categories students can choose to apply for are Business and Marketing, Computer Technology, Dance, English, Family and Consumer Science, Instrumental Music, Mathematics, Science, Skilled and Technical Sciences, Social Science Education, Speech/ Theater/ Arts/ Forensics, Visual Arts, Vocal Performances, and World Languages. Students are only allowed to apply under one of the 14 categories listed.

Part of the process when selecting Scholar nominees is an interview with a Sterling Scholar judge of the respective categories. Sterling Scholar judges reflect the category they’re in, with all 14 judges having a background in the sector of their choice. Some of the judges have won the Sterling Scholar Award in the past, and are eager to find new generations of Sterling Scholars.

To be eligible for the Sterling Scholar Award, the student must have a minimum GPA of 3.5 and must score higher than 17 on the ACT. The judges also take into account difficulty of classes and class ranking. Leadership is measured by the responsibilities placed on the student by their teachers and fellow classmates, as well as the positive and uplifting influence they have on other students. Students also need to show a high standard of citizenship throughout high school with services to their school, community, and/or other organizations. What the student’s attitude towards acceptance of responsibility is and evidence of long-term commitment to service will also be taken into account for the award.

Lauren Lengel is a Skyline student who was nominated for the English category. When asked why she decided to apply, she said she likes spending a lot of time on work and “wanted to do more.” She chose her category due to the fact that she likes to write prose and poetry, and enjoys participating in writing workshops and contests. She agreed that she was required to fill out her application with community service, and that she had to do essays and attend interviews. She also had to do a presentation and submit any past awards that she’s won, as the English category had a lot of applicants. Lauren said that the experience was “pretty interesting” and that the interview was easier than she thought it would be. Her response to how she felt when she won was just “AHHHHHH!”  She said her brain had a difficult time processing what was happening. Lauren didn’t think she had a high chance and went in with low expectations.

Amelia Webb was another one of the students nominated for the Sterling Scholar Award. She was chosen under the World Languages category. She said that she applied for the award because she loves languages and was “looking for opportunities to apply [her] linguistics interest.” Amelia stated that it was hard to say for sure how much work she’s put in, since she’s built up her skills over many years. When finding out she was chosen, Amelia said she was “so excited to represent a category that [she is] genuinely passionate about.” She enjoyed the experience, especially with all the time and energy she’s spent for this award.

While the competition is intense, there are several benefits to becoming a Sterling Scholar, such as scholarship opportunities. 13 colleges across the state of Utah offer varying scholarships open to any winners in the 14 categories. Many colleges offer 8 semesters of prepaid tuition, with some offering to pay 100% of the tuition for any Sterling Scholar winners that wish to attend. Neumont University in Salt Lake City has a scholarship called the “Presidential Scholarship” that covers 100% of tuition in hopes of bringing attention to themselves. The University of Utah offers a renewable annual scholarship that is open to any finalists or runner-ups in the Sterling Scholar competition, unlike many other colleges and universities that only offer scholarships to the final winners.

All  students who applied for the Sterling Scholar Award worked very hard and should be proud of their efforts. Skyline High School is very proud of its students and the nominees who made it to representing the school. The four finalists for each category will be announced some time in February, with the announcement for the top winners being later in the year. Good luck to each of the nominees for the rest of the upcoming Sterling Scholar process.