Oglethorpe County High School students Kayden Watkins and Landon King have been selected to the Athens-Area chapter of the Watson Brown Foundation Junior Board of Trustees.
The foundation is a group of high school students whose job is to make decisions on preserving local historic sights.
“All of this is really new to me, I only found out about this in August, but it’s essentially a historic preservation group,” King said. “Students can visit local archeological sites and help participate in some of the preservation projects at that specific site.”
King said he went through the application process that gave him the opportunity to be chosen.
“My U.S. history teacher, Mrs. (Holli) Stouffer nominated me for it, and I had to fill out an application on their website,” he said. “It was a pretty straightforward application. They asked for your name, address and references. I also had to type a paragraph about a local historical site that I think should be preserved, and what steps should be taken to preserve that.”
“My lifelong ambition has been to become an archaeologist, so when Mrs. Stouffer told me about it, I was quick to fill out the application,” King added.
The Athens-Area Board of Trustees is made up of students from 14 nearby counties, and is responsible for deciding which preservation projects will receive a portion of the $33,000 grant that year.
Prior to this, however, the students will spend multiple months learning about how historic sites are preserved, and how to successfully allocate the money given.
They will make their final decisions in June.
“I’m naturally introverted, but when I’m with a group of people who I share a common interest, and/or goal with, I tend to work really well with them,” King said.
Stouffer said King is “very passionate about history, specifically local history. I know he has strong family ties through the history of our community, so for me being new to the area, he has taught me quite a bit about the history of Oglethorpe County, and so I assumed he would be a really great candidate for this role.”
Ashby Booth is a freshman at Oglethorpe County High School.