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On May 14, 36 seniors were recognized for their accomplishments with private scholarships and the S Awards, with seniors receiving 15 S Awards, 28 seniors receiving scholarships, and eight receiving both.
An S Award is the highest honor given by NS to students who are involved with their school and community. The winners this year are Madison Johansen, Alivia Madsen, Sadie Job, Shea Rawlinson, Mallory Hinckley, Jadyn Howlett, Candice Sorensen, Gracie Larson, Brooklyn Larson, Angela Vasquez, Calder Bailey, Luke Mower, Brandt Lund, Genevive Thompson and Alana Bradley.
“Everything that somebody does in the school has a point value assigned to it,” Tyler Bailey, teacher and S Award advisor, said. “When students submit their requests with their points, we look over them and just double check and make sure that everything is correct. Then the highest 15 ‘point-getters’ get the award.”
One of the S Award recipients, Lund, has been Student Body president and involved with tennis, swim, three musicals and three different service clubs. He has served in many leadership positions in most activities he was involved with.
“The driving force of high school, for me, is just the connections I’ve made trying all of these different things,” Lund said. “Junior year was definitely a year of goal setting and trying to maximize my senior year. I think with that definitely came that goal of wanting to get an S Award and apply for these scholarships.”
Another recipient was Vasquez, who has been volleyball team captain for four years and involved with leadership throughout high school. Volleyball has been her biggest passion for all four years but was able to build friendships outside of volleyball.
“An S Award was not a goal for me at all, I was so shocked when I got one,” Vasquez said. “Being the last person called for it, I was just sitting there and was studying on my phone for my sewing final, … And then when [Bailey] was like, ‘this individual has played volleyball for four years and is in leadership.’ I said, ‘Wait a second, that’s me!’”
Bradley was able to share the honor of receiving an S Award with her parents. She was active with girls tennis, Hope Squad, Just Serve, National Honors Society and yearbook.
“I’ve had different opportunities in my life to get things and I’ve never been quite there,” Bradley said. “I think that it was cool for all of us to see that I could accomplish it without having to be a 4.0 student or being involved in a million different sports and stuff.”
Additionally, there were 31 private scholarships from the NS community given to 28 seniors. The scholarships came from local businesses and individuals who want to support the class of 2025. The scholarships were given to students based on their academics, involvement, athletics or work in trades.
“About three years ago, we noticed that we had fewer scholarships than some of our neighbors,” said Ben Cox, scholarship advisor, school guidance counselor and teacher, “and we decided that it would be great to reach out to the community and really activate these businesses and help them get involved helping provide scholarships for students.”
This year, over $32,000 was given to students. One of these scholarships from Sanpete Valley Hospital was given to Lund for his passion for healthcare.
“I was telling my mom that it would be so good for my self-esteem if I could win a medical scholarship,” Lund said. “That was all I wanted, and the scholarships I put the most effort into. … I really tried to try and put myself out there for those because that’s what I’m really passionate about.”
Bradley received a scholarship from Go Insurance for her service and involvement at NS.
“Service was my big thing,” Bradley said. “Just working with people and taking charge with planning stuff, not just me but as a group, to find ways to accomplish it without having the resources other people have.”
A new scholarship this year from Ison Family volleyball was given to Vasquez. The scholarship was chosen by the family with the names removed from the applications, yet Vasquez has a deeper connection to the family.
“The Ison family, they’re like my family so it was just that much more meaningful to me,” Vasquez said. “Being the first person to receive this scholarship was the best feeling ever. There were so many times I wanted to quit volleyball so it made me feel so good to get this scholarship.”
For both the scholarships and S Awards, seniors had to fill out applications. All future seniors are encouraged to fill out the application to take advantage of the opportunities given at NS.
“We always compare ourselves to the person who we know is well-rounded,” Bailey said. “I always tell the kids, ‘Yeah, you might not be number one, but you might be number 15.’ … It’s what we do, it’s tradition.”
