STERLING SCHOLARS • The JHS Sterling Scholar finalists are Tyree Cieslak, left, Emily Newell, Jessica Wright, Rose Oveson, Thomas Williams, Jayden Gardiner, Logan Squire, Alexis Nelson, Cambrie Hansen, Ashlin Ludlow and Jessica Willmore.
By Rebecca Dopp
Times-News Correspondent
The Central Utah Sterling Scholar awards ceremony will be held on March 5 at Richfield High School at 7:00 pm. The Deseret News and KSL Broadcasting Group developed the program to focus attention on outstanding seniors, to recognize them publicly, and award cash scholarships and tuition waivers from participating institutions. Each high school selects a finalist in each of the 15 categories: English & Literature, Speech & Drama, Mathematics, Social Science, Science, World Languages, Visual Arts, Computer & Information Technology, Trade & Technical Education, Agriculture Science, Family & Consumer Sciences, Business & Marketing Education, Music, Dance and General Scholarship. Each finalist puts together a portfolio of the work they have done in their respective category and is interviewed by judges. Winners and runners-up in each category are announced at the special awards ceremony. Representing Juab High School are the following students: Agricultural Science—Jessica Wright is the daughter of Kevin and Natalie Wright of Fountain Green. She has raised and exhibited steers, lambs, pigs and goats and has won several grand and reserve champion market animals and first place showmanships in local and state livestock shows. She is a member of the Mt. Nebo FFA Chapter and has served as an officer. She won the state FFA Goat Proficiency award and has competed nationally on the State Livestock Evaluation Team. She has worked as a veterinary intern. Computer and Information Technology—Alexis Nelson is the daughter of Jim and Tracy Nelson of Nephi. She has been involved in the Computer Science and Engineering programs at JHS. She is a member of the SheTech student board and a student facilitator for the Girls Who Code club. She will have completed the engineering pathway before graduating high school. She plans to attend college for computer science or computer engineering. Dance—Ashlin Ludlow is the daughter of Travis and DeeAnn Ludlow of Nephi. She is the president of the JHS ProVita. She has competed as a dancer and soloist and has placed in the top three every time. She was cast as Clara at the age of 10 for the Juab Fine Arts Council’s production of “The Nutcracker”. She is an assistant dance teacher, competitive dance team assistant coach, choreographer for competition solos, teaches private lessons, and is an assistant choreographer for two of the high school musicals. She has served as a captain for the ProVita for three years. She was selected to be a member on the 3A All-State Drill Team, 3A Academic All-Region and All-State teams, and has maintained a 4.0 GPA. English & Literature—Cambrie Hansen is the daughter of Ryan Hansen and Alynn Hansen of Mona. She has been the editor of the Nebonian yearbook, as well as the assistant and head publicity manager in student government. She writes articles for The Times-News, has helped raise over $15,000 for Sub for Santa, spends time at the homeless shelter and loves to serve others whenever she can. She enjoys writing short novels in her spare time and hopes to be published someday. General Scholarship—Thomas Williams is the son of Brady and Robyn Williams of Eagle Mountain. Thomas plays the trumpet in the JHS concert band and jazz band and has competed at state. With the band he has played at several old folks’ homes and at elementary schools. He attended math competitions including the state and Snow College math contests, placing 2nd and 7th in different years. He has been a member of the JHS Math Club. He has taken several advanced classes including political science, college algebra, calculus, psychology, sociology, English 1010, History 2700, History 2710 and biology. Over the years he has received top merit awards for math, science and social studies. He has volunteered at the Utah Food Bank and participated in community clean-ups. Music—Jessica Willmore is the daughter of John and Janalee Willmore of Nephi. She has been performing since the age of four. She is a four-year member of the JHS Concert Choir and Madrigal Choir where she currently serves as president. She was selected to be a member of the All-State and Honor Choir. She has been playing the piano for ten years and received superior ratings in all piano festivals and at region and state solo and ensemble competitions. She has performed alongside Vocal Point and assisted Alex Boyè at one of his concerts. For the past five years she has been taking vocal lessons through Hale Center Theater. She took 1st place at region drama in the musical theater category and has participated in and helped direct music in over sixteen musicals. She was recently cast as Adelaide in “Guys and Dolls” and Wednesday Addams in “The Addams Family Musical.” Science—Jayden Gardiner is the son of Joel and Jessie Gardiner of Nephi. He has participated in school science fairs winning Best in School and Best in Grade. He was awarded the Science Student of the Year in his freshman and sophomore years. He helped Nebo View Elementary do a science day by teaching them how to make cotton candy. He also showed them a science experiment while supervising the students on a parent meeting. He has been a judge for the elementary schools’ science fairs. Social Science—Rose Oveson is the daughter of Dr. Mark and Inger Oveson of Nephi. She has received awards in areas pertaining to history, politics and other social sciences. She has shared her experience in Mozambique where she traveled to build classrooms to improve education for young children. She also promoted citizenship as she encouraged her peers to vote and be involved in the community. She is the vice-president of the National Honors Society and is involved in the Wasps Student Leadership League, a group that allows the school board to receive input from students. She is planning to attend BYU to earn a degree in international development. Speech and Drama—Logan Squire is the son of Cory and Pascaline Squire of Mona. He has starred in 12 different productions and took 1st in both region and state drama as a sophomore with a self-written monologue. He is the JHS Student Body President. Visual Arts—Emily Newell is the daughter of Tim and Karen Newell of Nephi. She has won multiple first place ribbons in her high school’s art shows. She teaches art lessons to a young student in the community. She serves as the Art Club president, National Honor Society president, and organizes many service projects for her school and community. She has been a member of the JHS Concert and Madrigal choirs where she earned superior ratings in both state and region large groups and solo and ensemble competitions. As a member of the FBLA, she has placed 1st in region, 4th in state, and attended nationals for her achievements in the Client Service event. Mathematics—Tyree Cieslak is the daughter of Nathan and Brandi Cieslak of Mona. She has always excelled in math. She is a math tutor at JHS, likes to create games for kids to play so they can learn math in a fun, interesting way. She teamed up with the owner of an engineering company to create a product that will benefit the agricultural industry as a whole. She will be attending Utah State University to pursue a degree in mathematics, specifically in civil engineering. The Juab Sterling Scholars are advised by Amber Allred. | 