Determination, kindness, and intelligence. These are only a few of the traits needed to be successful in the world, and these are only a few of the traits that describe Sterling Scholarist, Jane Jardine.
Highland senior, Jane Jardine, won the Highland-level Sterling Scholar for Social Science a few months ago by showing interest in history throughout her four years at Highland and striving to make a difference at the school.
When Jardine decided to apply for the Sterling Scholar, she didn’t think anything would come of it.
But after submitting information about her skills, classes, and leadership goals, Jardine was accepted to the next round and was interviewed by some of her favorite history teachers.
Because she was given the interview questions beforehand, Jardine was able to use her previous interview skills to practice the questions with her family to sound as professional as possible.
“It was helpful to be able to roleplay with my dad and my grandpa and then just going and being confident in my own abilities,” Jardine said.
Jardine won the Sterling Scholar for social science through her love of history and in all the ways she’s been involved in the school.
One of Jardine’s main goals is to help women in education around the world.
Being educated herself, one of Jardine’s values is her education and how it can get her the farthest in life.
When Jardine had the opportunity to go to Kenya for a few weeks, she was able to help countless young boys and girls receive better education, which only made her cherish her own schooling more.
Although Jardine loves and values her education, one of her true loves is exercising and playing sports.
Jardine began experiencing chronic pain in the sixth grade but pushed through it so she could play basketball and run cross-country in high school. But after her sophomore year, the pain only got worse.
Jardine was diagnosed with Enthesitis, a member of the arthritis family, two years ago.
Because of this diagnosis, Jardine had to wear a back brace and couldn’t participate in the sports that she always loved doing.
“The chronic pain is really hard. Pushing through sports, I just didn’t have the stamina anymore to do it. So, I decided to take a step back, which was really hard,” Jardine said.
But instead of slipping into despair and being a victim, Jardine didn’t let this loss define her and decided to involve herself in other ways at school.
Because she couldn’t spend her time exercising anymore, Jardine wanted to shift her focus to helping others with their mental health and more.
“I’ll never forget her coming into the kitchen after school one day and saying, ‘Mom, I think I want to start a club, a kindness club!’,” Jardine’s mom, Katie, said. “I was so stunned and impressed.”
One of Jardine’s main goals for the Kindness Club is to make people aware of mental health problems and advocate for suicide prevention.
Since starting the club, Jardine has been able to research and learn so much about mental health and the stigmas that surround it so she can share the information and prevention measures with the community.
When the club was first founded, Jardine found it difficult starting everything on her own, but once people began to help her and she found the right community, the process really came together.
“Once I found counselors that wanted to help and students that wanted to help, it was really cool to see just the tiny impacts that we were able to have,” Jardine said.
Along with starting the Kindness Club, Jardine has also strived to make a difference with the special needs students.
At the start of junior year, Jardine was going home instead of getting ready for a sport after school, when Elle Jacobs, a student with Williams Syndrome, asked her for a ride home.
Since then, Jardine has been giving Jacobs constant rides home and has had the opportunity to connect with her and learn more about the special needs classes at Highland.
Jardine then became involved with the special needs classes and became a good friend and mentor to all those kids.
While she has stepped away from serious sports, Jardine has put more of her energy into helping with unified sports as she plays in the games and cheers from the sidelines.
“It’s so cool to connect with them because they’re honestly the most celestial beings that I’ve ever met,” Jardine said.
Jardine has felt very grateful to the community during this process for all the countless opportunities to get involved.
She has been inspired by multiple of her teachers to become a teacher herself so she can pass on the kindness and inspire future generations.
According to her family, Jardine has always shown kindness and empathy to others, and she’s always been a positive light in their lives.
Once in preschool, Jardine noticed a girl in her class going through chemo who was nervous and scared, so Jardine held the girl’s hand and walked into class with her.
In fifth grade, Jardine volunteered to help an adaptive needs dance class through Tanner Dance at the University of Utah and was later nominated in junior high to be on the Hope Squad at Hillside Middle School as someone her peers trusted.
While Jardine is a friend to the community, she also spends a lot of time with her family and has developed strong relationships with her five younger siblings and parents.
“She takes her younger siblings out for ice cream and special one on one moments when they need it most,” Katie said. “She has a sweet connection with each of her siblings, and I consider her one of my best friends.”
While Jardine has been supporting her family all her life, she has also gotten a lot of love and support from them as well.
Katie and Jardine’s dad, Griffin, have always tried to be available and reliable whenever Jardine needs it, even though it can be difficult with five other kids. But even through the struggle, they are still always cheering her on and helping her be the best she can be.
Through all her ups and downs, from needing to step back from sports to becoming a Sterling Scholar, Jardine has had all the love and support from her friends, family, and community as she tackles the challenges of life and paves her own path.
“She has a light that radiates pure goodness,” Katie said. “And I know she will continue to share that goodness wherever she chooses to go.”
