JAC Students

John Adams College has already produced men and women who are making a difference in the world. On this page, we note the professional and personal accomplishments of some of them.

As impressive as it is, this list is not exhaustive, and new honors and accomplishments arrive almost daily.

We get the best kids
from [John Adams] College.
~ Johnny Burtka, ISI

What set her apart most was her ability to see the big picture. She understood how different roles and functions interconnected, and used that insight to communicate effectively across the team and with management. Her strong communication skills, paired with her self-starting attitude, made her a natural fit for a collaborative environment. If her peers are anything like her, I would gladly hire more in a heartbeat. ~ Employer of a JAC student

Annalee Blonquist, class of 2027, published an article with Public Square Magazine.

Trevor Dyches, class of 2028, wrote an article for The Rostra entitled, Keeping Up with Mr. Jones. This article won the Best Feature in the Collegiate Network Student Journalism Awards, a competition organized by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. Trevor’s piece was reviewed by Ross Douthat from The New York Times, Curt Mills from the American Conservative, and Mary Margaret Olohan from the Daily Wire — they decided it was a winner!

Mahayla Bassett, class of 2024, wrote an article for JAC’s student newspaper, The Rostra, entitled, United Nations “Experts” Refuse to Discuss Motherhood. This article was nominated and is now a finalist for an ISI Collegiate Journalism Award under the commentary category.

Megan Cline, class of 2025, has been accepted in the Masters in Liberal Studies Program in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Rutgers University. She also received two scholarships, ‘Outstanding Achievement’ and ‘Graduate School Out-of-State Merit Scholarship’, which will pay 85% of her tuition costs. She is planning on a specialization in Creative Arts and Literature. Megan was also accepted at Antioch University in the Humanities Program.

Ella Johnson, class of 2025, was offered a job with the National Journalism Center, owned by Young America’s Foundation. They loved her work as an intern and came to her offering her a job as Program Officer for Outreach. After graduation, she will move to Virginia to work full-time at NJC’s headquarters. She will continue to write for The Spectator and other publications as well.

Angela Myers, freshman at JAC, competed in various debate and speech tournaments, receiving the following awards during the 2024-2025 school year:

October tournament at BYU – 1st place speaker in Student Congress
January tournament at Paradigm High School – 1st place, Student Congress
February tournament at Paradigm High School – 1st place, Lincoln Douglas Debate
April Championship Tournament at BYU – 1st place, Presidential Debate
October BYU Model UN Tournament, placed on the Security Council with a superior rating
April University of Utah Model UN tournament – placed on the Security Council with a Superior rating; awarded 1st Delegation on the Council.

Stephen Earley, freshman at JAC, published an article with Meridian Magazine.

Annalee Blonquist, class of 2027, has been invited by the Doha International Family Institute and the Qatar Foundation to attend with all expenses paid the 30th Anniversary Celebration of the International Year of the Family Conference in Qatar during the fall of 2024.

The Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) reached out to our seniors and told them if they would apply, ISI would finance a JAC online student newspaper. Our students filled out the necessary paperwork and The John Adams College Rostra was born. We are only one of two colleges in Utah with an ISI-financed student newspaper.

Ella Johnson, class of 2025, after finishing her internship with The Spectator World in Washington D.C. during the summer of 2024, was offered a paid freelance job to write two or three articles a week under their pseudonym, “Cockburn.”

Ella Johnson, class of 2025, while working on her internship writing for The Spectator World in Washington D.C. during the summer of 2024, was the second-place winner of the National Journalism Center writing competition. Find a link to some of her articles here.

Ari Johnson, class of 2023, after finishing her master’s at Ralston, won a fellowship at Encounter Books in New York City.

Annalee Blonquist, class of 2027, Addy Eisenach, class of 2026, Mahayla Bassett, class of 2024, and Afton Holzer, one of JAC’s MA students, were invited to attend the United Nations’ 68th Commission on the Status of Women Conference in New York City during the spring of 2024. They assisted Global Helping to Advance Women and Children who helped pay for their expenses.

Mahayla Bassett, class of 2024, has been accepted into the exclusive Master of Humanities program at Ralston College. The program is a one-year demanding continuation of the liberal arts education provided here at John Adams College. Students in the program spend one semester on an island in Greece studying Greek and one semester at the Ralston campus in Savannah, Georgia. Ms. Bassett will also receive a full scholarship for the program, a $60,000 value. Ralston’s program is in high demand, with 3,500 applicants competing for 24 positions. The school is operated under the Chancellorship of well-known educator and philosopher Jordan Peterson.

Ella Johnson, class of 2025, was chosen out of hundreds of applications for an internship writing for The Spectator World. A few of her publications are linked in our JAC Articles.

Ms. Johnson also published an article with Public Square Magazine.

Julie Greenman, class of 2022, was hired as a teacher with American Heritage School, Salt Lake City campus.

Megan Cline, class of 2025, was accepted into the ISI Honors program for the summer of 2024 and traveled to Wilmington, Delaware to participate.

Ari Johnson, class of 2023, was accepted into the exclusive Master of Humanities program at Ralston College. The program is a one-year demanding continuation of the liberal arts education provided here at John Adams College. Students in the program spend one semester on an island in Greece studying Greek and one semester at the Ralston campus in Savannah, Georgia. Ms. Johnson also received a full scholarship for the program, a $60,000 value.

Ms. Johnson was also accepted into Columbia’s School of Journalism to attend courses at Oxford University.

Ariella Nounna, class of 2023, was accepted into the exclusive Master of Humanities program at Ralston College. The program is a one-year demanding continuation of the liberal arts education provided here at John Adams College. Students in the program spend one semester on an island in Greece studying Greek and one semester at the Ralston campus in Savannah, Georgia. Ms. Nounna also received a full scholarship for the program, a $60,000 value.

Ella Johnson, class of 2025, was accepted into the ISI Honors program for the summer of 2022 after finishing her freshman year at John Adams College.

Bronson Bishop, a freshman at JAC, was the first-place winner in the 2023 Freedom Festival Speech Contest. He also placed 5th in National Mock Trials and 5th in the International contest.

Julie Greenman, class of 2022, was accepted into the Ashland University Master of American History and Government program.

COLLECTION

More from our students: