Weiser High School senior a finalist for national Elks award

Weiser class of 2020 graduate Justin Estes received many scholarships to help further his education goals, including the Elks Most Valuable Student scholarship and the NIAAA Idaho Athletic Administrators Association Athlete male scholarship winner.
 The process of being chosen as an Elks Most Valuable Student was a lengthy process that started with the initial application being due to the local lodge Nov. 5, 2019.
 The application took hours to complete and included information from volunteer activities and number of hours spent, school involvement, awards and achievements (school and outside awards), as well as an essay on leadership.
 In the middle of January, Estes was notified that he was advancing from the lodge to the district level of the competition for the award. By the end of January, he was notified that he had advanced to the state level.        
 At this point Estes had to submit proof of his test scores, high school transcripts, dual credit transcripts, and FAFSA information. At the beginning of March, they sent him notification that he had been awarded the State of Idaho award for Elk’s Most Valuable Student and was advancing to the National Semi-Finalist competition. Only 250 boys and 250 girls in the United States made it to the National Semi-Finalist level.
 As a semi finalist, Estes then submitted additional essays concerning his college goals, career goals, why I should be selected, and references. The finalist round was announced at the end of March. Only 10 boys and 10 girls were selected as finalists. Although Estes was not one of the top scholarship winners, he received a $4,000 scholarship.
 As the Idaho Athletic Administrators Association male athlete of the year, Estes is eligible for the $1,500 Sectional Scholarship awarded in June. Winners of the June scholarship will vie for the national $2,500 scholarship awarded in December.
 While it did not earn him any specific scholarships, Estes is also honored to have been chosen for BSU the Honors Program.  
 Estes holds a 3.912 GPA and has earned 27 dual credits and earned a 34 on his ACT, putting him the top 15 percent of all test takers and a 1210 on the SAT, putting him in the top 20 percent of that test.     
 Estes not only kept his academics as a priority he also participated in soccer, basketball, and golf, as well as multiple clubs and the Weiser High School musical.
 In addition to all of his school activities Estes is highly involved in his church community having gone on multiple mission trips. He also works as a lifeguard and assistant manager at the Weiser pool,  competes nationally in Spartan races- winning multiple first place individual races and placing top 10 in the Worlds in 2019.
 Estes has always been interested in computer science and the goal of developing programs that would be a benefit to others. Estes hopes to make a career of developing applications and programs that can be utilized as a benefit in the medical or military fields. The possibilities are endless of what could be created and designed to advance learning and exploration for both of these fields.
 “I want to make an impact in this world that is bigger than just me. Being part of the BSU cutting edge development team will allow me to bring some of my application ideas into reality,” Estes said.
 Estes also hopes to eventually pursue the creation of a game idea that he has had for some time and see it come to fruition.
 If Estes were to give advice to younger students it would be to not be afraid to do different things like play a sport or do the musical because you will regret the things that you didn’t do  more.
 Estes also shared that students should appreciate growing up in Weiser because the small town is a great place to try new things because not only does Weiser have a lot to offer, but the community is kind, generous, and incredibly supportive.