Skyline’s 2026 Sterling Scholars are among the most accomplished in the school, with achievements ranging from patent-pending medical innovations to placing among the top fifty in the nation for debate. The Sterling Scholar program covers fourteen different categories, providing an opportunity for students with a range of interests to compete at the state level for scholarships and prestige.
Mabel Crouse is Skyline’s nominee for the Speech Arts, Theater, and Debate Sterling Scholar and the Skyline Debate Team’s Overall Captain. Crouse has competed in debate for five years and has recently explored theater through the Musical Theater event at a local debate tournament. Crouse’s accolades include being top fifty in the nation for Lincoln Douglas Debate, ranking first in Utah for Lincoln Douglas Debate, and qualifying for the National Speech & Debate Tournament twice. When asked what her proudest accomplishment was, Crouse said, “In Speech and Debate, probably just […] expanding the LD [Lincoln Douglas] team so much. When I first started as LD captain my Sophomore year, it was basically just me and Valencia. And now, LD is probably the biggest event at Skyline.”
Johnathan Chen is Skyline’s nominee for the Business and Marketing Sterling Scholar and the Overall President of Skyline Business Club. He’s an FBLA State Officer, the FBLA Western Region Director of Communications, and has placed top ten in the nation in several business competitions. When asked about his advice for those hoping to become nominees in the future, he said, “Taking that first step. In life, the only reason I’m able to walk today is because I took that first step.”
Kiana Reid is Skyline’s nominee for the English Sterling Scholar and the Editor-in-Chief for the Skyline Horizon. Reid has been writing in the Horizon for all four of her years at Skyline, has had a couple of her stories published in the Satorian, Skyline’s literary magazine. Reid is also a RISE Ambassador, and has taken the highest level Theater class offered at Skyline, Theater 4/Second Stage. She first wanted to be a Sterling Scholar in her Sophomore year. When her Editor-in-Chief at the time was the English Sterling Scholar and she was writing on the Sterling Scholar article, she looked up to them as somebody who was very inspiring and decided that she too wanted to be Sterling Scholar. This then branched off into all the other things that made her a nominee today. When Reid was questioned on what she thought students who want to be Sterling Scholars in the future should do, she said, “You don’t have to think about it two years in advance, go for it. […] If you see something you want to do, go for it. Even if it sucks, at least you know it sucks, right?”
Juntian Deng is Skyline’s nominee for Mathematics Sterling Scholar. At Skyline, Deng took the hardest class the math program offers: IB Higher Level Mathematics. Outside of high school, he’s President of Mission Math, a statewide nonprofit organization that aims to educate K-12 students through annual mathematics competitions. The nonprofit has over four thousand members and nearly one hundred volunteers under Deng’s leadership. Deng has competed in the Harvard-MIT Mathematics Tournament and placed in the top ten percent out of nearly one thousand competitors. Deng is involved in many clubs at Skyline, being one of the presidents of Chinese Club, a treasurer in Business Club, and the vice president of Science Club. Along with all these clubs, he is involved in Skyline Track and Field, volunteers at Tracy Aviary, and is on the Utah State Math Team. When Deng thought about what the highest achievement of his may be, he said, “Being president of my nonprofit, because I think it shows impact not only in an academic sense, but it’s influencing other people in the future.” For students who want to be Sterling Scholars in the future, Deng added, “I think that you truly need to have passion for it, and if you have a passion, and an obsession, then you have the perseverance to work through it.”
William Silver is Skyline’s nominee for Computer Technology Sterling Scholar. At Skyline, Silver didn’t take a lot of actual Comp Sci classes. Instead, Silver is almost completely self taught, self studying for the AP Comp Sci test, and currently self studying IB Comp Sci HL. He has been learning to code since middle school, when he found a Harvard coding course, CS50 online, and followed along with it, doing the problems. Silver is involved with the United States of America Computing Olympiad (USACO), which is the Computer Technology counterpart of the Math Olympiads. Silver is currently in the Silver level and is going to try to earn Platinum this year. When Silver thought about what he thinks students who wanted to be Sterling Scholar nominees in the future should do, Silver said, “Explore your options, find what’s interesting to you, […] and invest your time in that subject.”
Adalayde Scott is Skyline’s nominee for the Science Sterling Scholar. She is a student conservationist with Tracy Aviary. Last year, Scott started teaching environmental justice classes with a group called Utah Youth Environmental Solutions (UYES), teaching a summer training program and occasionally doing workshops at Westminster. She is an acknowledged youth conservationist, speaking at Wilson Fowler’s endangered species launch. At Skyline, besides taking IB and AP Biology, her science focused work includes developing projects to present to elementary school kids, who otherwise might not have the opportunity to do hands-on science, in the club Science Alliance. Outside of Skyline, Scott is a continentally ranked rock climber, loves to hike, and was the youngest woman to hike The Wasatch Ultimate Ridge Lineup (WURL). When Scott thought about what she thinks makes her a unique Sterling Scholar, she said, “I think what is unique about me is that I don’t necessarily just engage with my chosen subject in school; I am more engaged with it outside of school. I think a lot of what I am doing is leading up to my future career, which does make me an unique and good Sterling Scholar candidate.”
Ryli Jonart is Skyline’s nominee for the Music Sterling Scholar and she is the section leader for the cellos in Skyline’s Philharmonic Orchestra. She also has been a member of the Utah orchestra program Young Artists Chamber Players since sixth grade. She first started playing piano when she was six years old, and she picked up the cello when she was in third grade. She said what she thought made her a unique Sterling Scholar, which was that “[People where I live] don’t have this drive to do anything with their life. [So,] coming from Magna, where most people don’t think of music or academics being important.”
Porter Miller is Skyline’s nominee for the World Language Sterling Scholar. He is currently taking American Sign Language (ASL) 4 and is part of the ASL Club at Skyline. He is also part of Skyline’s Wind Ensemble and has participated in many music groups as well. He has won the Junior Marriott Award from the ASL Honor Society and has been certified biliterate in the state of Utah. When Miller was asked about his proudest accomplishment, he said, “I think my biliteracy seal, of building up through my years of ASL to last year taking the biliteracy test to get the certification that my skills in ASL were high enough to be considered biliterate in English and ASL.” Some advice that he gave for future Sterling Scholars was: “Just be honest about what you’ve done […] and really brag about yourself.”
Khevna Navin is Skyline’s nominee for the Skilled and Technical Sciences Sterling Scholar. She is Vice President of Skyline Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) and has attended HOSA’s international competition twice. Currently, she’s interning at a hospital after completing her medical assistance training. She’s also engineered, alongside other students, a special kind of tuberculosis test that delivers faster than average results. Her design is currently patent-pending. In regards to her future career, Navin said, “I want to become a doctor, so I specialize a lot in science.” Specifically, Navin aspires to be a pediatric surgeon in the future.
Ava Szajnuk is Skyline’s nominee for the Social Sciences Sterling Scholar. At Skyline, she’s one of the Overall Captains of the Skyline Debate Team. She’s placed top fifty in the nation for Congressional Debate and hopes to interact further with the government when she grows older. Outside of school, Szajnuk is a member of the Rare Disease Advisory Council for the state of Utah. As someone with rare and undiagnosed diseases, she and her family lead a nonprofit that hosts annual events to encourage and uplift members within their community. Additionally, Szajnuk is a section editor for a student-run political magazine called For the Record, has held internships with the ACLU, and is excited to continue advocating for her community in the future. Szajnuk said, about the category, “I just want to make politics, the social sciences, history everything. I want to make it my whole life.”
Annie Bridge is Skyline’s nominee for the Vocal Performance Sterling Scholar. Bridge is extremely dedicated to singing. At Skyline, she has done choir all four years, been in musicals all four years, directed two musicals, danced for three years, and is on the Community of Caring board. Outside of Skyline, she also does private voice lessons and piano lessons. She has been a section leader in choir at Skyline for two years, and she originally started singing in elementary school. She said, “Singing has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. There has never been a time where I haven’t been singing and it’s always just something that I’ve loved, and I just think that that is something that I excel in, and that I would be a good fit for the Vocal Performance category.” For aspiring Sterling Scholar nominees, Bridge says, “Just put yourself out there and try for it, ’cause you never know what can happen.”
Freya Schultz is Skyline’s nominee for the Dance Sterling Scholar. At Skyline, Schultz is in the Dance Company, where she is an officer. She is in the IB Program, and she plays clarinet in the Wind Ensemble. Outside of Skyline, she does solo dance competitions and dance classes. She has been a member of the Holiday Youth Council for three years and is in the Utah Youth Symphony. In regards to why she applied to be a Sterling Scholar, Schultz said, “I applied to be a Sterling Scholar to represent the Skyline Dance program, gain an amazing scholarship opportunity, gain interview experience, and practice creating a portfolio.” She has been studying dance since she was five years old, and since then, she has been doing a variety of dance styles. She said, “I applied to be a Dance Sterling Scholar, because I am tremendously passionate about dance as an artform. I also wish to pursue a degree in Modern Dance in college, and Sterling Scholar is an amazing opportunity to be able to get a scholarship for my education as well as build a portfolio and interview experience for future dance programs and careers.”
Shelley Hansen is Skyline’s nominee for the Visual Arts Sterling Scholar. She has been taking art lessons for the past six years, her medium ranging from drawing to all types of painting. She says what makes her a unique Sterling Scholar is that she was born with cataracts, so she wasn’t able to see until doctors fixed her eyes. She says this lets her see the world in a unique way and that makes her stand out amongst other artists. At Skyline, she has taken drawing and painting all the way up to AP 2D Studio Art, and is now taking AP Art History. Outside of Skyline, she has been invited to oil painting workshops and goes to art classes at local colleges. She is proudest of a portrait she painted of her brother praying before a football game. Advice she would give to someone who would want to be Skyline’s Visual Arts Sterling Scholar nominee in the future, she said, “Just don’t give up on art, art has its challenges, but just keep drawing and painting.”
Heidi Jackson is Skyline’s nominee for the Family and Consumer Science (FACS) Sterling Scholar. Having taken six classes in the FACS pathway (i.e. sewing and foods), she plans to get the concentrator and completor cord. At Skyline, she is on the Community of Caring board for Service Scholar; she is also a RISE Ambassador, doing a lot of service and school/community projects. She is also an ambassador for ‘Keys to Success’, having a table in the Career Center and helping students get more opportunities for scholarships. Outside of school, she teaches tumbling and is the mayor of the Millcreek Youth Council, saying that working with kids is “her area.” The advice she gave for future students who would want to become a FACS Sterling Scholar, she said, “Take the classes, they’re really fun, and know your options for classes to take so you can plan to get the awards by your Senior year, because that is what matters in college applications.”
