What is it?
Sterling scholar is a program to award, publicly recognize, and encourage students through scholarships, leadership, and citizenship of high school students graduating in the 2025-2026 school year, meaning you could be a junior graduating this year and still run. The program seeks to highlight excellence through all the nominees who are running. All nominees are judged equally based on scholastic achievement. The program is also sponsored by Larry H. Miller Family Foundation, Utah State Office of Education, district officials, high school administrators, and colleges and universities that support the program through scholarships and financial assistance.
Who is eligible?
Any Utah high school student can be eligible to run as long as they are graduating during the current school year. Each school is expected to nominate one candidate in the 14 categories. A student can be an applicant by participating in a sterling scholar high school and applying to the school they will be graduating from.
How are the areas decided?
The program is distributed into 5 independent areas through the state’s 41 school districts and counties. The areas are Wasatch Front, Northeast Utah, Central Utah, Southeast Utah, and Southwest Utah. There is no “state” level competition. These guidelines are chosen by Deseret News and KSL Broadcast Group, both of which have been sponsors of Sterling Scholar Awards since 1962. However not all the groups are directly administered by Deseret news and the KSL Group, only the Wasatch Front (which we happen to be) is.
The general process
Each school nominated one student per 14 categories; there will be 15 semi-finalists per category and 4 finalists from each category per each area with a total of 168 finalists. There will be 14 category winners with 2 runnerups per category. Three special awards for General Sterling scholar, Gail Miller Community service award, and the Philo T. Farnsworth Award.
Qualifications
Each nominee is required to make an electronic portfolio containing a release form, a photo, category-based showpiece item, and any other required information.
Judging
Judging is based on portfolios, exhibits, and personal interviews. The process is also broken up into 20% or 20 point increments of scholarship, which is an overall GPA on how difficult one’s class schedule may be and standardized test scores. Category expertise, which is an emphasis on the nominees performance in their specific category. Leadership, which is responsibilities a nominee may have placed on them from a teacher or fellow nominees. Community service or citizenship, each nominee is expected to show a record of high standard of citizenship through the high school years, service to school, community or other organizations. Interview, which is the semi-finalists and finalists judging the interview will consist of the ability to answer the questions relating to their category.
What are the categories, and who does alta have for each one?
English- Lucia Denzer
Math- Ammon Krebs
Social science- Clara Lewis
Science- Seraphina
World languages- Andie Anderson
Computer technology- Claire Kunz
Skilled and technical science education- Jasson Chavez
Family and consumer science- Klaira Bowles
Business and marketing- Sam Wray
Speech/theater arts/ debate- Braden Mark
Vocal performance- Emmy Chipman
Visual arts- Blayke Carter
Instrumental music- Kay Spillett
Dance- Josie Jappson
Special awards
The General sterling scholar award recognizes the individual that excels in their category and also shows exemplary scholarship, leadership, and citizenship.
The Gail Miller community service award is given to one of the nominees recognized for exceptional community service.
Each category winner- 2,500$
Two runners-up per category- 1,000$
General sterling scholar award- 2,500$
Gail miller community service award- 2,000$
Philo T. Farnsworth award- 1,000$
