Former Eagle staff editor/photographer receives U of U Top Scholar award

A former College of Eastern Utah student, Scott Frederick, received the Kappa Tau Alpha Top Scholar award at the University of Utah’s department of communication on April 2, 2014, for his 4.0 GPA. He has the highest GPA in his department’s graduating class this year.
While at CEU, he was photo editor for six semesters and editor-in-chief his final year for The Eagle newspaper. He was named co-communication student of the year 2007-08. 
Joining The Eagle staff his first semester, Frederick was a natural at shooting photos of the CEU community. His first love, however, was shooting sports and he amassed thousands of photos of CEU athletes. Because he never missed a game, the staff added a pencil and paper to his camera bag and he became a sports writer, following the team to regionals and nationals. 
His perspective of life at CEU reflected a sense of greatness and achievement as he wrote stories about artists, discoveries and uniqueness. He loves to write stories about people who make the world a better place.
While at CEU, he was honored twice by Columbia University’s Scholastic Press Association with first place in “first person experience writing for newspapers” and third place in “feature photography portfolio of work for newspapers.” 
For the last year he has been the photo editor and reporter for the West View newspaper published in SLC.
About coming back to college 26 years after his high school graduation, he said, “feeling the energy and just being a student was awesome. My fellow students were so fun to hang out with. I was a poor student in high school and was also very timid. When I started at CEU, I committed to being bold and to immersing myself in the college experience—which I did.
“In classes I felt like a sponge soaking up new concepts and expanding my knowledge and understanding. All of my teachers at CEU were outstanding and many of them went above and beyond to help and coach me.
“A few favorite moments at CEU were learning about geology from Michelle Fleck, having dinner on Sunday evenings with Larry Severeid while discussing literature, meeting Bo Christensen and going on many river trips with him including the Grand Canyon after graduation in ‘09, following the men’s basketball team to Hutchinson, Kan., for nationals, and working through the wee hours on The Eagle with the staff and adviser Susan Polster.”    
Frederick got straight As at CEU, with the exception of math and biology. He said, “Getting an A, for the most part, is earned by doing the work the teacher assigns. Do your work on time, be engaged in classroom discussions, sit on or near the front row, introduce yourself to your teacher early and don’t ask teachers for special favors—unless you absolutely have to.” 
Becoming a top student is simply about setting goals. “If you want to be the top student commit to that goal, work as hard as you can, and let the chips fall where they may.”
His daily mantra is, “work first, play after. Although anyone that knows me knows I procrastinate at a world-champion level.”
With two weeks of school remaining, Frederick says his goal is to get a job in my field that I am passionate about. I would love to teach or write about people making a difference. I also want to keep improving as a [photography] shooter. 
One would think with all his prior rafting trips, he would be burned out. Not Frederick, he still wants to raft the Grand Canyon many more times as part of his bucket list. He also wants to travel the world.
A passionate, driven individual, Frederick never forgets to thank the people who helped him pursue his dream. “Thanks to the awesome, amazing teachers at CEU and the U. It’s the teachers—not fancy buildings or the latest technology that makes the most difference in the lives of their students. To all school administrators—find the best teachers, give them the resources they need and give them raises!
“Thanks to family, friends and study buddies that cheered me on. A special thanks to my parents, especially my mom who helped financially when I needed it most. And a special thanks to Lynette who knows the challenges of being an A student (valedictorian of our high school class) and has been there for me in every way possible throughout my academic career.”