Judge Memorial Catholic High School seniors Arok Kuang and Guadalupe Medina Zepeda were named First Ascent Scholars through a program at the University of Utah’s David Eccles School of Business. The program provides full financial scholarships as well as a stipend for living expenses. Courtesy photo/JMCHS  SALT LAKE CITY — Two members of the Judge Memorial Catholic High School Class of 2026 were named First Ascent Scholars through a program at the University of Utah’s David Eccles School of Business. 
The program, which is open to Utah residents who are high school seniors, accepts only 10 to 12 new students each year and offers full-ride scholarships and living stipends. Applicants must carry an unweighted GPA of 3.2 or higher. The application program includes their academic transcript, and personal essay, two letters of recommendation and proof of demonstrated financial need.
If accepted, the students must commit to majoring in business at the University of Utah. They must reside on campus for two years and complete mandatory volunteer work, among other requirements.
Bulldogs Arok Kuang and Guadalupe Medina Zepeda, who were selected as First Ascent Scholars, “both really deserved this award,” said Amanda Lazinski, co-director of college counseling at JMCHS. “They are both such quiet, confident leaders and … I feel like both of them naturally make gifts of themselves wherever they go.” 
In addition to being kind and hard-working, each of the students is “so aware and so appreciative of their parents’ work ethic, and the self-sacrifice of their parents in just a low-key way,” Lazinski said, adding that Kuang and Medina Zepeda both have siblings and want to be examples for them.
Last year, Christian Padilla, JMCHS Class of 2025, was accepted into First Ascent, and he returned to the Judge campus this spring to do a presentation on the program. JMCHS’ college counselors suggested that Kuang and Medina Zepeda apply; there were other seniors who might have qualified but they are not interested in pursuing a degree in business, Lazinski said.
Many recipients of the First Ascent scholarships are the first in their family to attend a university, and that is true of both Kuang and Medina Zepeda.
Kuang’s parents were born in Sudan and became refugees. Kuang and his older brother were born in Egypt, then the family came to the United States and were settled in Utah, where his two younger siblings were born.
“They came here for a better life,” Kuang said.
The children attended Kearns-St. Ann and Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic elementary schools in Salt Lake City, then moved on to Judge. At the high school, Kuang played basketball for four years and was involved in the Black Student Union. For his electives he took a variety of classes as diverse as weight-lifting and art “because I wanted to see what I was interested in,” he said.
When not studying or on the basketball court, he worked at an outside job.
The curriculum and culture at Judge Memorial “prepares you for college … and the real world,” he said, adding that in particular he learned time management, discipline and the ability to communicate with adults.
His parents have been strict about the value of education, he said. Although his father attended a community college and his older brother briefly went to college, “I’m going to be the first one going to a university, so I think it’s very important to me, because I’m very strong about furthering my education and just taking it somewhere,” he said.
He had planned to attend college and thought he would have to take out student loans to pay for it, so the First Ascent scholarship “honestly really just lifted a burden from my family,” he said, adding that his parents are very grateful that he will not have to bear the expense of a university education.
It also has had an influence on his younger siblings. “I feel like I’m like becoming a role model for them and … creating a path for them” and showing them that such things are possible, he said. 
At the university, he is considering a double major in accounting and finance, but “I’m honestly just open to learning different fields of study in business,” he said. 
For his future, he does not have an exact plan “because I know that it can change at any time, but I do know that I want to work in the business field,” he said.
Like Kuang, Medina Zepeda believes Judge prepared her for a college career. The faculty and staff work hard to help students succeed, she said, and “Every member of Judge has left a long-lasting impact in my life.”
Medina Zepeda was born and raised in Utah; her parents immigrated from Mexico almost 20 years ago, and worked for the Cathedral of the Madeleine for 15 years. She has four younger siblings; all of them attended the Madeleine Choir School.
“My parents believed that Catholic schools provided A strong educational and supportive environment, and they were right,” she said. “Attending a Catholic school was a blessing, God’s mercy in my life.”
At Judge Memorial, Medina Zepeda focused on her studies, taking nine AP classes. In addition, she was a member of Latinos Unidos and was named Most Inspirational Junior for that organization. Also as a junior she earned a Catholic Woman’s League scholarship to attend Girls State, and won a Presidential Service Award. 
Her favorite class was AP Art because “it’s my passion,” she said, and she won the school’s Christmas card design contest two years in a row. She also entered a community arts show in Midvale and won awards each of the four years. 
Medina Zepeda graduated from Judge with honors, carrying a weighted cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher. She also earned the Bishop’s Service Award, and Academic Excellence Awards in both science and theology.
Her parents did not have the same educational opportunities that she has had, she said, “so being able to pursue higher education is a way for me to, like, honor their sacrifices and their hard work.”
She also sees it as opening doors for her younger siblings, showing that college is possible for them. “I want to help pave the path the same way that my parents paved it for me,” she said.
At the U, she is thinking of majoring in business administration and minoring in finance. When she graduates, she wants to help her father continue to grow his home maintenance business and also use her education to “uplift and empower the Latino community,” and create opportunities to build successful businesses for Hispanic entrepreneurs, she said. “I just hope to create a long-lasting impact by giving [back] to the community that shaped me.”