ST. GEORGE — She’s the class valedictorian, has a full-ride academic scholarship and already has 26 college credits before graduating high school. She loves educating herself and uses her hobbies to enhance her studies. She’s a recent Sterling Scholar Award winner. She’s Aspen Downing.

The Sterling Scholar Award is given to high school seniors in Utah for outstanding scholastic achievement, leadership and citizenship. Downing has always excelled in school. She skipped seventh grade, putting her on a high school campus at 13 years old.

Ever since she went to elementary school in person, she knew she needed to stay online for high school.

“I felt extremely out of place in high school my freshman year,” she said.

Then an email arrived from Utah Connections Academy, offering the chance to do 10th grade online while also earning college credits. Whereas some students would shy away from such a rigorous academic program, Downing embraced it.

“When the email came for dual enrollment, I felt it was for me,” she said.

Her summer preparations for the General Education Development test smoothed the transition from traditional high school to the dual-enrollment program, blending high school and college coursework.

“That helped me prepare for college,” Downing said. “Then, I was ready to go, and it was so fun. It was the best experience of my entire life.”

Along with concurrent enrollment, she was homeschooled for 10th grade and half of 11th grade, returning to UCA her senior year. She is now 17 with 26 college credits and will graduate in May.

While Downing is aware of her rapid academic progression, the culture of accelerated learning at Utah Connections Academy, driven by dual enrollment, has both humbled and inspired her alongside equally gifted peers.

“When I was younger, I was definitely one of the only ones doing it,” she said.

However, Downing recognizes that while her path is not entirely unique, it comes with challenges and accomplishments, teaching her humility and resilience.

“The older I get, the less impressive I think it is,” she said.

Downing said she didn’t enjoy attending in-person high school. She was away from her peers. So, she credits online learning for how her education has turned out.

“I learn best online,” she said.

Downing, who is hearing impaired, finds it helpful to record lessons and replay them.

She cites the “In and Out” program as a “major part of her success.” These are essentially virtual office hours, and the digital classroom proved to be a perfect fit for her. It is a primary reason she chose UCA, she said.

“I go almost every day and receive help and get questions answered,” she said.

Acknowledging her unique situation, Downing said she appreciates her home’s dual role as a learning environment, though she recognizes it may not suit everyone.

“You have to be self-motivated; having intrinsic motivation within you leads to extrinsic motivation,” she said.

And she also credits her support system.

“Talk to your family about it,” she said. “My family is really good about knowing I have to work. The house is quiet a lot of the time.”

Her school adviser helps her plan her studies and she says she is proud of her.

“When Aspen looks at everything she needs to do and learn, she is very strategic about planning out everything she wants to accomplish short term and long term,” said adviser Christina Hartman.

Hartman recalls the first time meeting Downing and compares it with Downing receiving the Sterling Scholar Award.

“She’s always been an impressive student and person,” Hartman said. “It didn’t surprise me when she won because, if I think about the characteristics of a SterlingSscholar, Aspen embodies all of them.”

While Downing says she always knew she would eventually be a Sterling Scholar, she also knows that she is inspired to pursue medicine because of another strong person in her support group, her older sister Sierra. She had just received her bachelor’s degree in biochemistry  from Utah Tech University and was accepted into medical school when Downing approached her and told her she wanted to become one, too

“I wasn’t a mentor who only said, ‘Yeah, medicine studying is great,'” Sierra Downing said. “I just recognize that people are so different.”

Sierra Downing said she feels like she knows what her sister wants out of life, and being an M.D. would eliminate different opportunities.

“I told her ‘I know that you want to be like me when you grow up. But we have different interests in our lives,'” Sierra Downing said.

For example, Aspen Downing is interested in medicine but also loves Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

“I feel I can incorporate some engineering into studying different things in the medical field,” Downing said. “I’m very interested in STEM.”

It’s that type of thinking that Sierra Downing wants to encourage. It isn’t that she doesn’t want her to be a doctor; it’s that she wants her to be able to explore “many different avenues.”

“I don’t think she’s going to be happy doing the same career her whole life,” Sierra Downing said. “She wants to earn multiple degrees. I told her that if she wanted to pursue engineering and medicine, then she should look into nursing. If she decides to become a doctor, that will be her career and nothing else. But if she gets a nursing degree, it’ll only take four years of her time.”

Eventually, conversations between the sisters and the rest of the family influenced Aspen Downing’s decision to pursue nursing rather than a more extended medical degree.

Aspen Downing specifically hopes to one day become a travel nurse, which exemplifies her trend of hobbies blurring the lines into the academic.

Beyond her academic and extracurricular achievements, Aspen Downing’s personal interests and aspirations portray a well-rounded and deeply curious individual.

She notes that spending weekends focused on studies might not be everyone’s choice, but she finds deep satisfaction in her academic pursuits. Downing balances her dedication to education with a passion for travel and storytelling. She has already traveled across the United States, and her engagement with creative writing complements her A-type knowledge well.

“It’s not the most popular choice to stay in and do homework instead of going out on the weekends,” she said. “But I actually prefer it. I prefer to study. I prefer to do homework. I feel like education and academics are areas in which I really excel.”

However, she is not a homebody, as she loves to travel.

“We used to camp a lot when I was younger, so we got to go to different places,” Downing said. “We’ve been on two road trips across the United States.”

Her love for travel is not just about leisure; it’s an extension of her curiosity.

She says her hobbies, such as playing the guitar and writing stories, help hone her empathetic skills, which will be crucial for her future in nursing.

“I love stories. I love telling stories. I love writing stories. I love listening to stories. I feel like they increase a lot of empathy in people, which is good for nursing. When writing my books, I feel my empathy increases as I see from different characters’ perspectives, which helps me see from different perspectives, too,” she said.

As her class’ valedictorian, she will give a speech at graduation in May.

“Utah Connections Academy is such a wonderful thing,” Downing said. “I know I can graduate because of the amazing teachers at UCA.”

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