About Us

Embark on a journey to gain access to invaluable resources, mentorship, and a supportive community of like-minded peers. Being a Sterling Scholar instills a lifelong passion for learning and a commitment to excellence.

LEARN MORE

What is a Sterling Scholar?

A Program for Students

A Sterling Scholar is a high school senior who is publicly recognized and awarded for the pursuit of excellence in scholarship, leadership and citizenship in the State of Utah. A potential Sterling Scholar presents an all-encompassing portfolio on their work in a specific category and is interviewed by judges in the category’s field at various times. Sterling Scholars are awarded at the high school, semi-final and finals levels. At the awards ceremony, finalists in 14 categories are announced and then an overall Sterling Scholar winner is also announced.

The Deseret News and KSL Broadcast Group developed the program especially to focus attention on outstanding seniors in order to recognize them publicly as well as award cash scholarships and tuition waivers from participating institutions. The Sterling Scholar Awards Program seeks to commend and encourage excellence among all nominees. All nominees are judged equally on the basis of scholastic achievement without regard to religion, sex, political preference or national origin.

(The name Sterling Scholar Awards is a registered U.S. trademark.)

Our Sponsor

Larry H. Miller Group of Companies

Gail Miller is owner of the Larry H. Miller Group of Companies and Chair of the Board of Directors of Larry H. Miller Management Corporation.

Gail and her late husband, Larry, started their business with a single Toyota dealership in 1979. The Larry H. Miller Group of Companies has grown to include more than 60 car dealerships throughout the West, the Utah Jazz, the Salt Lake City Stars, the Salt Lake Bees, theatre complexes, and a variety of other automotive, financial, and real estate companies. Today, the privately-owned Larry H. Miller Group of Companies employs more than 10,000 people.

Gail and Larry created a strong legacy of giving back to the communities in which they do business. Gail presides over the Larry H. Miller Education Foundation and the Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Foundation, which support a wide range of charitable, educational, and humanitarian causes.

Gail gives freely of her time and is actively involved in many other business, civic, and educational endeavors. She serves on the National Advisory Council at the University of Utah and the President’s Leadership Council at Brigham Young University. Gail also serves as the chair of Intermountain Healthcare’s Board of Trustees, on the Shelter the Homeless Board, and the Zions Bank Advisory Board.

Gail has been recognized with many public honors including Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Utah and Salt Lake Community College, an honorary Doctor of Humanities from Weber State University, and the Salt Lake Chamber’s highest award “A Giant in Our City.” She is also the recipient of the internationally-recognized ATHENA Award.

In 2012, Gail married Kim Wilson. Kim is a senior attorney with one of Salt Lake City’s oldest law firms, Snow, Christensen and Martineau, which has been in business since a decade before statehood was granted to Utah. He is Chair of the Board of Trustees of Mormon Historic Sites Foundation and serves on the boards of a number of other civic organizations and causes.

Gail and Kim enjoy traveling, serving others and spending time with their large family. They make their home in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Larry H. Miller strongly endorses the Utah Anti-Bullying Coalition. More information on the coalition can be found here. Read this Deseret News article about the Gail Miller Foundation to the Sterling Scholar program. For more information on Larry H. Miller please visit their homepage here.

Our History

How it All Started

In 1962, Steve Hale began working at the Deseret News as a columnist. He had previously worked at another newspaper which held a yearly awards program for high school scholars, called the Golden Knights — the “knight” being a play on the name of the newspaper’s owner. Hale suggested that the Deseret News begin a similar program.

The Deseret News had already been recognizing outstanding high school athletes for years, but Hale, along with Lavor Chaffin, education reporter, and Keith West, director of marketing, 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.

The Name

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. KSL soon joined the Deseret News in its endeavors and even telecast the event for many years. It is now considered quite prestigious to be a Sterling Scholar. The Deseret News and KSL are presently working on bringing all the counties and regions together to make this an even greater, all-encompassing program.

Recognizing Outstanding Scholars

In 1962, Steve Hale began working at the Deseret News as a columnist. He had previously worked at another newspaper which held a yearly awards program for high school scholars, called the Golden Knights — the “knight” being a play on the name of the newspaper’s owner. Hale suggested that the Deseret News begin a similar program.

The Deseret News had already been recognizing outstanding high school athletes for years, but Hale, along with Lavor Chaffin, education reporter, and Keith West, director of marketing, 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.

Frequently Asked Questions

Still Have Questions?

We value your inquiries and concerns about the Sterling Scholar program. Whether you're a student eager to participate, a parent with questions, or simply someone intrigued by our program, we welcome your inquiries. Please don't hesitate to reach out to us and share your thoughts, concerns, or suggestions. We look forward to hearing from you soon!

CONTACT US