Deseret News archives +: Remembering the very first Sterling Scholars show
A look back at local, national and world events through Deseret News archives.
When Steve Hale came to his editors at the Deseret News with an idea to honor Salt Lake City area high school students, he met a receptive audience.
The Desert News had already been recognizing high school athletes for their successes, so to do the same for top scholars made perfect sense.
The year was 1962. More than 60 years later, the Sterling Scholars program is well known for its celebration of student success.
And it grows and grows each year.
According to Sterling Scholar organizers, Hale, a columnist, suggested that the Deseret News sponsor a program to spotlight scholastic achievement.
Hale, along with education reporter Lavor Chaffin and marketing director Keith West, realized that outstanding academic scholars were not recognized in any manner. They decided to meet with members of the board of education in Salt Lake City for support in recognizing high school seniors.
After the board of education approved the program, Chaffin and West created 12 categories and requested that each school nominate at least 12 candidates. They also decided to name the program 'Sterling' since sterling, by definition, is something pure and valuable and scholars seemed like a natural second word. Hence, the name Sterling Scholars was created.
The first year, the program was only held in Salt Lake City but it quickly spread to Cache and Utah counties and then across all of Utah.
Coverage in the Deseret News that year included photos of the winners on the front page, along with stories about those who helped with the awards program and what parents and school leaders said about the event.
As a fun side note, one winner, who was not present because he was competing in the National Science Fair competition in Seattle, did not find out he had won until the following day, when his parents phoned him.
KSL soon joined the Deseret News in its endeavors and even telecast the event for many years.
Consider how may high students are involved in the program. There are more than 100 schools, and each nominates a winner in each category. The competition categories have been expanded to 14 and now include regional winners in different parts of the state.
Students begin building their portfolios at the school level. Winners then advance to regional and final competitions. Winners receive awards and recognition, while some colleges and universities in Utah offer financial assistance to top nominees in the Deseret News/KSL Broadcast Group Sterling Scholar Awards Program.
The final awards program is now streamed live by KSL-TV.
It is now considered quite prestigious to be a Sterling Scholar, and it would probably be easy for a Sterling Scholar math nominee to figure out how many Utah high school seniors have been honored.
But the process and what is learned along the way can be valuable as well.
Here are some stories from Deseret News archives about the program:
"How Sterling Scholar has awarded Utah's brightest students for 57 years"
"Sterling Scholar builds on a 53-year history"
"Sterling Scholars: Where are they now?"
"Meet the Deseret News/KSL 2025 General Sterling Scholar"
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Deseret News archives +: Remembering the very first Sterling Scholars show
A look back at local, national and world events through Deseret News archives. When Steve Hale came to his editors at the Deseret News with an idea to honor Salt Lake City area high school students, he met a receptive audience. The Desert News had already been recognizing high school athletes for their successes, so to do the same for top scholars made perfect sense. The year was 1962. More than 60 years later, the Sterling Scholars program is well known for its celebration of student success. And it grows and grows each year. According to Sterling Scholar organizers, Hale, a columnist, suggested that the Deseret News sponsor a program to spotlight scholastic achievement. Hale, along with education reporter Lavor Chaffin and marketing director Keith West, realized that outstanding academic scholars were not recognized in any manner. They decided to meet with members of the board of education in Salt Lake City for support in recognizing high school seniors. After the board of education approved the program, Chaffin and West created 12 categories and requested that each school nominate at least 12 candidates. They also decided to name the program 'Sterling' since sterling, by definition, is something pure and valuable and scholars seemed like a natural second word. Hence, the name Sterling Scholars was created. The first year, the program was only held in Salt Lake City but it quickly spread to Cache and Utah counties and then across all of Utah. Coverage in the Deseret News that year included photos of the winners on the front page, along with stories about those who helped with the awards program and what parents and school leaders said about the event. As a fun side note, one winner, who was not present because he was competing in the National Science Fair competition in Seattle, did not find out he had won until the following day, when his parents phoned him. KSL soon joined the Deseret News in its endeavors and even telecast the event for many years. Consider how may high students are involved in the program. There are more than 100 schools, and each nominates a winner in each category. The competition categories have been expanded to 14 and now include regional winners in different parts of the state. Students begin building their portfolios at the school level. Winners then advance to regional and final competitions. Winners receive awards and recognition, while some colleges and universities in Utah offer financial assistance to top nominees in the Deseret News/KSL Broadcast Group Sterling Scholar Awards Program. The final awards program is now streamed live by KSL-TV. It is now considered quite prestigious to be a Sterling Scholar, and it would probably be easy for a Sterling Scholar math nominee to figure out how many Utah high school seniors have been honored. But the process and what is learned along the way can be valuable as well. Here are some stories from Deseret News archives about the program: "How Sterling Scholar has awarded Utah's brightest students for 57 years" "Sterling Scholar builds on a 53-year history" "Sterling Scholars: Where are they now?" "Meet the Deseret News/KSL 2025 General Sterling Scholar"
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Deseret News archives +: Remembering the very first Sterling Scholars show
A look back at local, national and world events through Deseret News archives. When Steve Hale came to his editors at the Deseret News with an idea to honor Salt Lake City area high school students, he met a receptive audience. The Desert News had already been recognizing high school athletes for their successes, so to do the same for top scholars made perfect sense. The year was 1962. More than 60 years later, the Sterling Scholars program is well known for its celebration of student success. And it grows and grows each year. According to Sterling Scholar organizers, Hale, a columnist, suggested that the Deseret News sponsor a program to spotlight scholastic achievement. Hale, along with education reporter Lavor Chaffin and marketing director Keith West, realized that outstanding academic scholars were not recognized in any manner. They decided to meet with members of the board of education in Salt Lake City for support in recognizing high school seniors. After the board of education approved the program, Chaffin and West created 12 categories and requested that each school nominate at least 12 candidates. They also decided to name the program 'Sterling' since sterling, by definition, is something pure and valuable and scholars seemed like a natural second word. Hence, the name Sterling Scholars was created. The first year, the program was only held in Salt Lake City but it quickly spread to Cache and Utah counties and then across all of Utah. Coverage in the Deseret News that year included photos of the winners on the front page, along with stories about those who helped with the awards program and what parents and school leaders said about the event. As a fun side note, one winner, who was not present because he was competing in the National Science Fair competition in Seattle, did not find out he had won until the following day, when his parents phoned him. KSL soon joined the Deseret News in its endeavors and even telecast the event for many years. Consider how may high students are involved in the program. There are more than 100 schools, and each nominates a winner in each category. The competition categories have been expanded to 14 and now include regional winners in different parts of the state. Students begin building their portfolios at the school level. Winners then advance to regional and final competitions. Winners receive awards and recognition, while some colleges and universities in Utah offer financial assistance to top nominees in the Deseret News/KSL Broadcast Group Sterling Scholar Awards Program. The final awards program is now streamed live by KSL-TV. It is now considered quite prestigious to be a Sterling Scholar, and it would probably be easy for a Sterling Scholar math nominee to figure out how many Utah high school seniors have been honored. But the process and what is learned along the way can be valuable as well. Here are some stories from Deseret News archives about the program: "How Sterling Scholar has awarded Utah's brightest students for 57 years" "Sterling Scholar builds on a 53-year history" "Sterling Scholars: Where are they now?" "Meet the Deseret News/KSL 2025 General Sterling Scholar"
