Jennifer Stauffer was thanking heaven for a little nudging from Mom Wednesday night.
The Woods Cross High senior received top accolades at the 1999 Deseret News/KSL Television Sterling Scholars awards ceremony. But she almost wasn't there to savor the fruits of her achievement: a $1,000 check as Sterling Scholar in English and another $1,500 for the overall General Scholarship award."I didn't even expect this at all. I didn't even think I was going to come. My mom made me," said an elated Stauffer, daughter of Jay and Becky Stauffer of North Salt Lake. "Thanks, Mom."
Stauffer maintains a 4.0 GPA, is first in her class of 439, has secured full scholarships to Utah State University and the University of Utah and was a National Merit semifinalist. Still, she doubted her odds in the competition.
"I never even imagined my accomplishments could ever compare to some of these scholars," she said, adding she had hoped to be a runner-up for some extra funds to take on a spring break trip to San Francisco. Now, she says, she'll stow her winnings in a bank account.
Competition was stiff in the 38th annual event. The 195 finalists, whittled from 663 gifted contestants from 51 Wasatch Front public high schools, ascended from several weeks of competition to vie for $21,000 in prizes.
The contestants created portfolios -- Timpview's Eve Pate, trade and technical education Sterling Scholar, spent 50 hours on hers -- interviewed and, if necessary, performed before judging panels.
Thirteen Sterling Scholars received $1,000 cash awards, and 26 runners-up were awarded $250. Sterling Scholars are eligible for scholarships and tuition waivers at several Utah colleges and universities.
"I think this is something I can look back on and be proud of," said Jennifer Smith, mathematics Sterling Scholar from Hunter High School, where she is first in her class of 629.
Sterling Scholars grew from a 1962 Deseret News staff writer's idea to create a forum lauding academic excellence, much as student athletes are recognized.
The awards have become a household name and, in some cases, a generational endeavor. The family tree of Bryce Haymond, the computer technology winner, includes four Sterling Scholar contestants: one brother received school-level honors, two uncles were runners-up, and his mother, Brenda Haymond, was a finalist.
Yet the Haymonds are not the only ones who set out for the achievement early in their education.
"This is something I've been working for for a long time," said Bethany Allen, winner in the speech/drama category. The Davis High student body vice president and debate team adviser has a four-year tuition scholarship to Utah State University, where she wants to double major in history and philosophy and minor in French.
"My whole life has been a preparation (for such honors)," Allen said. "I once had a teacher say, 'Follow your passions.' That's what I did."
The same is true for many of Wednesday's honorees who seem well on their way to the professional world.
Take Ryan VanWoerkom, named the foreign language Sterling Scholar. The Fremont High senior, who leads his class of 562, speaks fluent German and is learning French. He spent last summer in Hof, Germany -- Ogden's sister city -- translating for an American soccer team and teaching some English classes in local high schools.
Now, VanWoerkom, who has applied to attend USU, the U. and Southern Utah University, wants to learn Mandarin Chinese, Spanish and Russian, before becoming a medical ambassador for the United States in Third World countries.
Carly Berrett of Bingham High, Sterling Scholar in dance, is getting a jump start on becoming a professional modern dancer.
She has received a dance scholarship to the U., and volunteers for elementary schools' artist-in-residency programs with her mother, Marilyn Berrett, an associate professor in Brigham Young University's dance department.
For Bryan Drury of East High, top honors in visual arts capped an exciting day. Drury, whose painting, "Randy," can be seen in the nation's capitol for the next year or so, hours earlier had learned he was accepted into Cooper Union, a selective New York City college.
The Sterling Scholars program honors academic excellence but has evolved to include special honors, accompanied by $100 checks, for technology innovations and community service.
The Philo T. Farnsworth Governor's Award, which honors student innovations in the spirit of the Father of Television, went to Patrick Dylan Zwick of West High School in the Salt Lake City School District. Zwick, who leads physics workshops after school, has achieved a 3.9 GPA and a perfect score on the verbal section of the SAT.
Farnsworth, the inventor of the vacuum tube, was born in a log cabin near Beaver, Utah. He is depicted in a statue in Washington, D.C.'s Statuary Hall.
The Douglas F. Bates Community Service Award, in its third year, was awarded to Michael Troy Harris of Logan High School. Harris, a straight-A student, is primary caregiver to his grandparents and an uncle with Down syndrome.
Bates, director of school law and legislation for the State Office of Education, is noted as a tireless advocate for education and children and his community. He is undergoing treatment for pancreatic cancer.
Sterling Scholars hailed from 11 high schools in seven school districts.
The lion's share went to the Davis School District, which posted four winners: Davis High's Allen and Malachi Johnson, science; Northridge High's Clifford Blair, social science; and Stauffer.
Jordan School District is home to three winners: Berrett, Haymond, and Alta High's Aubrey Wilson, family and consumer education.
Granite School District has two winners, both attending Hunter High: Smith and Holly Arnell, business and marketing. The two hope to be roommates at BYU.
"I think I just had a good attitude," Arnell said of the competition. "You have to have confidence in yourself. If you believe in yourself, you can do anything."