When Words Don't Do Justice

By Molly Dean

Ballard High School, Louisville

 

There is so much to be said: so many relationships, feelings and opportunities that have been offered in this environment.

It seems to be much more of a utopian society than the real world which we have temporarily tried to block out. It's strange that I was intimidated by the idea of simply describing what this experience has been like for me.  Not in a bad way, simply a "where do I start?" way. 

I was one of about 360 students living on Bellarmine University’s campus in Louisville while participating in the Kentucky Governor’s Scholars Program. In all, more than 1,000 scholars from across the state flocked to three college campuses this summer, embarking on a journey unlike any other.  The five-week program is dedicated to enriching top high school students’ academic, civic, economic, and social knowledge.

The GSP environment is so hospitable to growth.  Its uniqueness lies in the way it differs from the classroom settings in which we have all grown up.  No grades, no external motivation, simply reliance on your own curiosity and ambition.  You learn because you are hungry to know more.  You wrestle with what is difficult because you like the challenge.  And you are better for it. 

My journalism studies here have been eye opening.  The media is relevant and unavoidable, holding so much potential. I am taking home a greater understanding of how I am affected by the merging of communications technology, and an awareness of my news sources and how I stay informed on a daily basis.  It has sparked a curiosity.  But we are all searching for the truth in our own ways, and it boils down to the source. 

As far as the GSP is concerned, I am finding that generally, it is whatever the scholar is willing to put into it, as are many things in life.  A good attitude and a thirst for knowledge can take you places you never imagined.  Students are so receptive to an instructor’s passion for what they do that the teacher typically makes the class.  The entire GSP faculty really is a powerhouse of academia.  I am surrounded by so many role models, it makes my head spin in the best way!   

I'm not sure I can justify the program with my words, but I can say with certainty that this has been a life-changing experience. I cannot pinpoint how I am different, but it has been a big transition.  And this is such a vital point in our lives, "on the verge of adulthood.”  We hear it every day; we feel the pressure to make important decisions, except it is usually just talk, babbling.  But this experience has had an impact in so many ways. 

For these few short weeks, the Governor’s Scholars Program brought to a halt the reality and imminence of our futures, if only to show us how much potential we all hold. 

The "Community"...It Will Grow On You

By Claire Cunningham

Notre Dame Academy, Park Hills

           

            During the first few days of the Kentucky Governor’s Scholar Program I would often entertain myself by interchanging the words community and cult.

Initially, I was intimidated by the administration’s forceful speeches on their utopian society. The mere thought of being called out during the weekly community meeting or, God forbid, being late, gave me nightmares.

I was not a happy scholar.

            To be frank, I had no genuine desire to participate in a five-week program focused on education, a program that would tear me away from my friends, my family, and my summer fun. In my mind GSP was a summer camp for nerds; kids who looked forward to exams, thrived on personal response essay tests, and had no personal social agenda for the summer.  I had built up in my own mind this sort of scholastic-based prison.

            In mid-June, when I arrived on the Bellarmine University campus in Louisville,  the atmosphere fell nothing short of my low expectations. The first day was chock full of painfully awkward introductions, forced smiles, and my own angry glances at my parents for forcing me to participate in this slave camp. The one glimmer of hope that I had was that my roommate didn’t seem like a reject and some of the girls on my floor had decent friend potential. But other than that, the situation looked bleak.

            Ironically, as the first week opened and I became familiar with my schedule, I only became more confused. The bizarre classes and early rising often caught me off guard and I felt like a little kid lost in a big and daunting grocery store. I found solace in my Focus Area of study.

            I have always enjoyed writing and my Focus Area, Journalism and Mass Media, allowed me to express my creativity. This class also gave me my first, honest to God, GSP friend, Casey Breese, a senior at Heath High School in Paducah. Finally, I had found someone who could keep up with my sassy and sarcastic remarks, liked the same music, and could make me laugh. It was refreshing to be around another person like myself. I hope that I was as comforting to him as he was to me.

            With one new friend under my belt and my confidence building, I began to reach out to girls on my floor. I came to find that my roommate was quite charming, and I began to enjoy our awkward run-ins as they bloomed into enjoyable conversations filled with shallow prattle, gossip, and even politics. Kelsey Day, my roommate from Harlan County, slowly but surely came out of her shell and became my ally. She was my friend to sit next to during the awful meetings, my friend to find at lunch, and my friend to pour my heart out to every night about friends, classes and boys.

            These new friends had more of an impact on my attitude than I was ever aware. Because I had these faces to look for at the next “mandatory fun” activity, friends to walk with to miscellaneous activities and just had people with whom I could connect and talk, my outlook on GSP soared.

            I had never realized up until this point how much I needed to be around people to feel whole. I had always thought myself to be an independent and free-thinking girl who wasn’t afraid to go anywhere alone. GSP humbled my inflated ego and taught me to appreciate the people that were kind-hearted enough to put up with me.

Yet that is what GSP is all about. This “intellectual program” was designed to draw in a diverse group of students from all over the state and allow them to forge friendships that can last a lifetime. I have never met teenagers quite like my fellow scholars. Not only were these kids fun and exciting, they were intelligent. They could hold their own in debates over politics, religion and society. I believe that this is what makes the program unique. Simply put, it is not a normal adolescent environment.

Now these abnormal surroundings have grown on me. Grown on me to the point that when I am thrust back into the real world I will most likely feel lost, similar to how I felt during the first few days of GSP. So if this cult or community is accepting scholars, let the hazing begin. 

Defining "It"

I arrived at the Governor’s Scholars Program on June 15 very much alone. Only three kids from my school were on my campus, and I knew only one other person of the 360 scholars on the Bellarmine University campus. Bellarmine was a large pond, and I was a tiny minnow. I was scared, worried, and altogether distraught.

            Then it started.

            What is “it”? It was a spontaneous eruption of friends and fun. It was the exposing of my inner being.  It was a life-altering change in my personality, in my people skills, and in my relationships. I met new people and soon had a group of friends that I could call on for help or advice. I attended classes and learned a variety of new things about journalism in my Mass Media class.

            It allowed me to meet some amazing individuals during my time at GSP. I joined a group of friends and soon we were spending all of our spare time hanging out and meeting other people. We laughed, we cried, we even spent long nights talking on the phone. The friends I met at GSP will truly be my friends for a lifetime.

            But the greatest instance of it for me was meeting Barbie.

I met Barbie at the Mattingly Center for Adults with Disabilities. Barbie needed help doing many everyday activities. She was restricted to a wheelchair, and she had to have someone push her in order to get around.

My General Studies class at GSP did biographies on the patients at the Mattingly Center, and my group was assigned to Barbie. Over three days we got to know Barbie very well, learning about her likes and dislikes, about her friends, and about what she wants to do with her life. Hearing her talk about her desire to get married and have two kids was enough to bring us to tears because we knew that without some kind of miracle, she would never get that opportunity. Barbie was kind, mischievous, and funny all at the same time.

 After visiting with Barbie and telling her story, we were filled with a desire to go back. Personally, I know I will go back to the Mattingly Center. I will go so that it can keep working.

            All in all, it made GSP one of the greatest experiences of my life. Now that I have unlocked it within me, I believe I am ready for the rest of my educational career. I know I can be more outgoing, more personable and friendly. I hope to meet more people in my life like the friends I have made at GSP – and like Barbie. This experience has transformed my life and prepared me for the real world. I left GSP with a new outlook, ready to challenge myself in my daily life.

All I have to do is bring it.

G.S.P. Doesn't Disappoint (But Funding Reducations Do)

By Brian Campbell
Louisville Eastern High School

The night before I left home to attend the Governor’s Scholars Program at Bellarmine University, I remember sitting at a cookout with a group of family friends, and someone asked me if I was going to be homesick. Five weeks away from your parents and away from home is longer than you think it is.
My response was just to shrug my shoulders nonchalantly. Sure, I wasn’t thrilled to leave the place I’d called home for 17 years, but at the same time I was looking forward to the upcoming experience. Over the years GSP had earned a reputation for excellence and for its unique approach to training Kentucky’s future leaders. It didn’t disappoint.
The GSP is an exciting gathering that takes place every summer, and in 2008 it brought together over 1,000 diverse students from across the Commonwealth, dividing them among three host campuses, Bellarmine in Louisville, Centre College in Danville, and Morehead State University.
The program truly has been unlike anything that I’ve been able to experience. Within the first days of the program, I had met a large portion of the community of 360 scholars that called the Bellarmine campus home. Every scholar came on a level playing field, and even though we were similar in how we got here, every one was different in his or her own way.
Together we participated in a wide range of classes, seminars and extracurricular activities that challenged us in new ways. We worked on projects in our different Focus Areas of study. We discussed controversial topics in seminars, learning more about who we are and where we really stand. Each one had to go through the same process I did, but I felt at home getting to know this diverse group.
With 360 students on my campus, all the activities were enriched by the diversity. Everyone brought something different to the table.
That’s why it was sad to sit in small classrooms for seminars and see so many empty chairs belonging to so many missing students. It wasn’t because they’d missed class or overslept. Scholars were missing this year because funding for Governor’s Scholars Program was cut by state officials who are desperate to get the budget under control.
Sure, it would be nice to say that those of us who are here survived the budget cuts and got to experience the program, but one of the most vital things to the success of this program is the diversity of people in it. Every scholar here contributes to the whole experience. So the budget cuts didn’t just hurt the missing students; they hurt the rest of us too, because we couldn’t benefit from their unique ideas, culture and points of view.
Among the main aims of the GSP is keeping Kentucky’s brightest and gifted young people in the state. Colleges and Universities statewide offer very generous scholarships to students who became scholars and meet the academic requirements. The combination of the GSP and these scholarships is in hopes of securing a promising future for the state by keeping the best of Kentucky in Kentucky.
The budget cuts to the GSP have stripped away opportunities, not just cash flow. This year alone over 100 students that should’ve spent five weeks of their summer securing their future and our state’s never got the chance to. In a time of economic setbacks, the last thing that should be cut is something that could very well prevent the same setbacks from occurring in the future. The Governor’s Scholars Program should be last in line for the chopping block, both for the student’s sake, and for our state’s.

A Roommate Connection

By Macy Brown
Muhlenberg South High School

On June 15, I left the small town of Greenville to attend the five-week long Governor’s Scholars Program in Louisville. Thoughts were racing through my head on the two-hour drive to Bellarmine University, where I would soon find myself living in a dorm room with a complete stranger.
My greatest fear was that I would not like my roommate. What was there not to worry about? What if she made me clean my room? What if she didn’t want me to talk on the phone? What if she wanted to practice playing an instrument all night long?
We arrived on campus and began to carry my luggage up to the dorm. I saw the name Rachel Amburgey written by mine on the door. She had beaten me to the room. Her family was helping her unpack. There was a prom picture sitting on her desk, and I assumed the guy was her boyfriend. I realized she would want to talk on the phone too. I was most reassured when she unpacked a softball glove and not an instrument.
The very first night we realized just how much we had in common. We were both talking about the day we received our acceptance letters from the GSP and how we felt. Most people would say that they were overjoyed, it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity. But not us. We both thought that it was great we got accepted but I’m not sure either of us really wanted to come. My thoughts on the situation were: Why would anyone want to leave their family and friends for five weeks? What if everyone there is smarter than me? Can I just say I got accepted, is that not good enough? Rachel’s thoughts turned out to be very similar.
The scholarship opportunities that would become available to us upon completion of the program were probably the most important factor in our decision to come. Now I feel that if I had not come, it would have been the biggest mistake of my life. My experience at Governor’s Scholars has been amazing. I have learned a lot academically and personally. I have gained a new confidence in my ability to be independent when I’m away from home and to handle strange situations in strange places. And I have made tons of new friends and memories.
It’s interesting that you can learn so much from a program that doesn’t grade your work. At the Governor’s Scholars program, community seems to be as important as academics. At the GSP, strangers become friends. That is definitely the story for Rachel and me.
At 11 o’clock every night we are told to be in our room, doors shut. However, that doesn’t mean it’s time to go to bed. My roommate and I have never gone to bed before midnight. We talk to each other, talk on the phone, tend to eavesdrop on each other’s conversations, and snack a lot.
This is the last week of GSP and I’m beginning to realize how hard it’s going to be for me to leave. Rachel is from Ashland. Ashland is almost 300 miles from Greenville; that makes seeing each other after the program difficult. However, we already have possible dates and places we could see each other again.
Rachel and I have become very close over the summer and although we are sad to leave we both know we will keep in touch, and it’s not like we won’t ever see each other again. There is a possibility that we may attend the same college. It would be amazing if my roommate for a summer could turn in to my roommate for a semester.

No Explaining Love for "Summer School"

By Casey Breese
Heath High School, Paducah

Who in their right mind would want to spend the majority of the summer before their senior year at a five-week “intellectual” program? Who in the world would leave their best friends to surround themselves with 360 unfamiliar faces? But honestly, who would sacrifice their right to sleep to attend 9 a.m. classes?
When my parents presented the idea of the Governor’s Scholars Program to me, all these questions, along with 99 others went spinning through my cerebellum at the speed of sound. It wasn’t until two weeks into the program that I stopped and thought, “This isn’t nerd camp, this is GSP.”
Thrown into a brand new environment that was extremely unfamiliar and incredibly awkward, I didn’t know what to expect of GSP. All the GSP alumni I had spoken with previous to arriving at the Bellarmine University campus had assured me it would be an once-in-a-lifetime experience, but I just wasn’t seeing it. With all the exceptionally long GSP meetings, a strange sense of misdirection everywhere I turned, and the lack of companionship, there was nowhere to go but up. But the “up” that I was looking for wasn’t far away, not far away at all.
In reality, the basis of what I was looking for, the catalyst that would heighten my “GSP experience,” was some sense of comfort. I wanted to fit in somewhere, have people to talk to, and not have awkward silences waiting for me around every corner. At first this seemed extremely difficult, but day-by-day the awkwardness was brushed off our shoulders, the discomfort thrown off our backs, and the tension left in the dust behind us. It wasn’t long into the program that my list of friends began to grow, and I began to grow too.
I danced onstage during the weekly Showcase theater. I learned to salsa on Arts Day. I, Casey Breese, sat through the entire Casablanca motion picture – and I liked it. This is what GSP does. It pulls you out of your comfort zone and throws you into the unknown. It may sounds harsh to outsiders, but this is the foundation of GSP. This is what makes it such an effective program. While I couldn’t help but point out every negative that I could find the first week, I began to realize that there are so few negatives up against so many positives.
One positive that comes with GSP is the requirement to be an independent thinker. I think that when we are at home, in our own little towns, we have the tendency to get too content with ourselves. We begin to become way too satisfied with our level of conformity. GSP breaks you out of this protective shell, throws you directly into the lion’s den of discomfort. Between three separate classes (focus area, general studies, and seminar), new ideas are tossed around with more speed than a big league fastball on steroids.
That’s the genius of this program. What better idea to expand intelligence, promote thinking, and create a new network of friends than to throw together 360 of the most well-rounded seniors in our state in an environment that puts more emphasis on creating a sense of community than generating a classroom setting.
I think that when I return home, I might receive some sort of ridicule for spending my entire summer at “school.” The ironic thing is that I can’t really blame people for those thoughts, because I would think the exact same thing. But at the same time, I will be able to do nothing but shake my head and laugh. When my parents brought up the idea of GSP a couple of years ago, I couldn’t fathom how awesome the experience could be.
As cliché as it sounds, all good things must come to an end. With the program coming to a close, I have a feeling is in the pit of my stomach that four weeks ago, I would have never expected to have. I’m going to miss this place. What was once so different has become the norm. But regardless of my wishes, this five-week “intellectual” program lasts only five weeks. There’s no doubt in my mind, though, that I can walk away with my head held high, because I know I am taking away friendships, ideas, and perspectives that will last a lifetime.

Journalism: Out of the Comfort Zone

By Susan Ahmadi
Rowan County Senior High School

Over the past s 17 years of my life I have loved the spotlight. Whether I was dancing in a recital, competing in gymnastics, performing on a stage or just talking to a group of people, I have always enjoyed being surrounded by others.
When I was accepted to the Governor’s Scholars Program, a summer residential program for outstanding high school seniors in Kentucky, I was overwhelmed and excited about all the people I would meet. Spending five weeks at the Bellarmine University campus far away from home with about 360 other students sounded superb.
I have been to academic programs in the past, so I was used to awkward introductions and the oddly entertaining situations of playing “the name game," untangling human knots, and sitting down to eat at a table full of strangers.
Thus, when I repeatedly heard that GSP encourage students to “step out of their comfort zone,” I didn’t think twice about it. The whole concept of a “comfort zone” was fictitious in my eyes.
However, when I discovered that my Focus Area of study was Journalism and Mass Media, I have to admit I was terrified. I like to stick with activities I have experience in and know I’m good or at least semi-decent at. This was definitely not the case with my soon-to-be Focus Area. I had as much experience with journalism as I did with palm reading. Here’s a hint: I had none.
During the application process for GSP, we were required to select three focus areas we would be interested in studying. I knew I wanted to choose International Relations because I’ve always been interested in that subject and currently serve as Secretary General for this year’s East Senior Kentucky United Nations Assembly. I’ve also been acting since I was four so I didn’t think twice about selecting Drama. Last, I almost chose Spanish Culture and Language because it’s a huge part of my life; my mother is from Colombia and I’m very familiar with the language and lifestyle.
But, I also have loved writing and never have had room in my schedule at school to take journalism classes. I had been advised by my parents to take classes I wasn’t accustomed to, so I decided to choose Journalism and Mass Media instead of Spanish.
Yet, for some reason, I was convinced that I wouldn’t end up in that class. I had no experience with journalism whatsoever. As much as I loved writing, the idea of the public reading my writing sent chills down my spine. In addition, my photography skills have always been lacking. My teacher, Jeanie Adams-Smith is a phenomenal photojournalist, so I prayed that she wouldn’t think I was a humiliation to the art of photography. And, of course, I carried the always-evident fear of failure.
Now, I understand why “stepping out of your comfort zone” is one of the main goals of this phenomenal program. Being a journalist for the past five weeks allowed me opportunities and experiences that will last a lifetime.
My main story for my class was to write a profile on a faculty member here, Terence Gaskins. Journalism allowed me to meet an extraordinary personality and new role model, which I wouldn’t have had the chance to do otherwise.
My eyes were also opened to how the journalistic world is changing rapidly because of technology advances in today’s society. Visiting the Courier Journal allowed me to experience this issue firsthand, and I’ll forever be motivated to support newspapers in an ever-changing technologically centered world.
Although I’m not going to pursue a career in journalism, it will definitely be an interest I’ll possess for the rest of my life. I’ll never forget the impact journalism made on me over these past five weeks. I discovered the beauty of journalism: the ability to meet someone or visit a place or issue and to share their stories with the general public, while at the same time expanding your own realization of who you are.
I’m genuinely glad that I stepped out of my comfort zone this summer. The Governor’s Scholars Program really does develop leaders of the future. As a leader, I feel I can better relate to the introvert who dreads being thrown into a cafeteria of strangers because I’ve been in the same uncomfortable boat.