Frightening At First, Worth It In The End

By Megan Martin

Woodford County High School

 

            Walking into a group of 360 high school seniors who are all complete strangers to you can be pretty intimidating. Especially when you will be spending the next five weeks living with them.  All you can think about are first impressions. “Should I go and introduce myself? I hope they like me. Did I put enough deodorant on?”

            This was my experience on June 15 as I walked into the Kentucky Governor’s Scholars Program on the Bellarmine University campus in Louisville. The GSP is a five-week summer program where selected students from around the state gather on a college campus to further their learning. However, my experience featured so much more than just education. I learned more outside of the classroom than I could have ever learned inside.

            The program’s mission is to develop the future economic, educational and civic leaders of Kentucky. To achieve this mission scholars attend classes, do community service, and form an “intellectual community” with faculty, staff and other scholars.

That word “community” is central to the GSP experience. Over the five-week period, these 360 strangers began to build relationships and then great friendships until the campus began to feel like a huge family with brothers and sisters sharing one of the best experiences of their lives.

            Being put into a situation where I didn’t know anyone’s name or face was one of the best things that ever happened to me, even though I didn’t realize it at the time. For the first couple of days, I was nervous and occasionally shy, but then I realized that everyone was in the same boat, and we all needed to make friends. So I was forced to step outside my comfort zone and approach people I had never seen before. At first, it wasn’t easy and the conversations were sometimes awkward, but after those first couple of days, approaching people and making new friends felt like second nature. As a result of being thrown together with strangers, and reaching out and meeting new people, I formed friendships that are sure to be lifelong.

            The GSP taught me so many things in only five weeks, but there are some lessons I learned that will stay with me forever. The experience taught me to step outside of my comfort zone, and take risks. It may seem frightening at first, but the outcome is always worth it.