The Sterling Scholar candidates at Olympus are consistently described as “the best of the best.” Students who compete for the scholarships are selected to represent their school in one of 14 specialized categories. In addition, they must also have excellent grades, a rigorous class schedule and documented service in the community.  

“A Sterling Scholar is a high school senior who is publicly recognized and awarded for the pursuit of excellence in scholarship, leadership and citizenship,” said Olympus High Principal Jennifer Christensen in her Sterling Scholar announcement video in October. 

“A candidate presents an all-encompassing portfolio on their work in a specific category and is interviewed by judges in their field. Our Olympus High Sterling Scholars have a rich history of being very successful throughout the semifinals and final levels,” Christensen said. 

Christensen’s comments proved to be a good prediction: all 14 of their school candidates moved on to the semifinals for the second year in a row. Of those, four went on to the final round, which means they could be selected as the overall statewide Sterling Scholar in their area. 

The finalists are Katherine Kaufman in Science, LilyKate Jones in the Visual Arts, Caroline Pace in Instrumental Music and Sierra Heflin in World Languages (Spanish). 

“The semifinal interviews were held on Feb. 9 and we were informed on Feb. 13 which students were selected to go to the final interviews,” said teacher Parley Jacobs. Jacobs is the CTE Coordinator and Sterling Scholar Advisor at Olympus. 

“Olympus High School, like our sister schools, is well represented in the 14 areas of competition. These students have made great preparations and contributions in order to be selected by their teachers to represent Olympus in this prestigious program,” Jacobs said. 

The Sterling Scholar program, now in its 61st year, is sponsored by the Deseret News and KSL News. The final awards night for the statewide competition will be held in March. (Student photos courtesy of Olympus High website) 

Sterling Scholar Oly 1: Connor McConkie, Business and Marketing 

Sterling Scholar Oly 2: Samuel Bradley, Computer Technology

Sterling Scholar Oly 3: Sarah Jordan, English

Sterling Scholar Oly 4: Olivia Yates, Dance

Sterling Scholar Oly 5: Brynlee Thain, Family and Consumer Science

Sterling Scholar Oly 6: Caroline Pace, Instrumental Music

Sterling Scholar Oly 7: Brock Perreca, Mathematics

Sterling Scholar Oly 8: Katherine Kaufman, Science

Sterling Scholar Oly 9: Bailee Carlson, Skilled and Technical Sciences

Sterling Scholar Oly 10: Isabelle Cannon, Social Science

Sterling Scholar Oly 11: Heidi Thomas, Speech/Theatre/Forensics

Sterling Scholar Oly 12: LilyKate Jones, Visual Arts

Sterling Scholar Oly 13: Isaac Fox, Vocal Performance

Sterling Scholar Oly 14: Sierra Heflin, World Languages