Bartlesville senior drives away with Student of the Year award

Bartlesville High School senior Matt Fries was named Student of the Year during the 2022 Night of Scholars and Champions ceremony Monday night at the Bartlesville Community Center.

He was selected from among 16 high school senior finalists from 12 area school districts.

"I am ecstatic. I did not expect this. I'm so surprised," said Fries. "Everyone else is just as deserving. I feel so honored that they chose me."

The program is sponsored by the Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise and Patriot Auto Group.

As Student of the Year, Fries received a $1,000 scholarship, a $500 gas card from Phillips 66, a $2,000 scholarship from the Examiner-Enterprise and a brand new 2022 Hyundai Elantra valued at more than $21,000 from Patriot Auto Group.

Fries is an Eagle Scout, Troop 5 senior patrol leader, troop guide and den chief. He is Washita Lodge Order of the Arrow vice chief, treasurer and service chairman and was awarded the Order of the Arrow Distinguished Service Award and Founders Award.

He is an active member of St. John Catholic Church Youth Group and serves as a small group leader.

Fries was vice president of Bartlesville Future Farmers of America, placing as a 2021 National Finalist for the FFA Agricultural Communications Career Development Event.

He was a student representative for the 2021 Bartlesville School District Bond Issue and volunteers with Catholic Charities and the Knights of Columbus. Fries is a member of the Environmental Club and enjoys backpacking and the outdoors. He plans to study biological systems engineering at Oklahoma State University.

Earlier this year, Fries was named an Oklahoma 2022 Academic All-Stater, a distinction recognizing the top 100 public school seniors in the state. He was selected from 397 nominations statewide and will be honored at the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence's 36th annual Academic Awards Celebration on May 21 at the Omni Oklahoma City Hotel.

First runner-up is Makenna Smith of Dewey High School, who will receive a $750 scholarship; second runner-up is Kyla Taylor of Oklahoma Union, who will receive a $500 scholarship; and third runner-up is Julia Barron of Oklahoma Union, who will receive a $250 scholarship.

Daniel Barham, who played football, basketball and baseball for Caney Valley High School, and Maddie Shelley, who played tennis for Bartlesville High School, were named Athletes of the Year. Both will receive $1,000 scholarships.

The recipient of the $1,000 Sutton Center Conservation Hero Scholarship is Mackenzie Hendrix of Wesleyan Christian School.

Event sponsors include Ascension St. John Jane Phillips, Tri County Tech, Diversified Research Systems, Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise and Patriot Auto Group.

This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: Bartlesville senior drives away with Student of the Year award