Oglethorpe County High School students Kayden Watkins and Callie Bridges participated in this summer’s Governor’s Honors program, an educational program in which students have the opportunity to experience college life.
The four-week program at Georgia Southern in Statesboro offered a variety of subjects that students could choose to study.
Watkins, who studied math, and Bridges, who studied agricultural science and biotechnology, spoke with The Oglethorpe Echo regarding their experience.
Comments have been edited for length and clarity.
Q: How were you able to participate in the GHP?
A: Watkins: A couple teachers nominated me, and asked me which subject I wanted to partake in. They recommended I go with mathematics, so that’s the one I went for.
Bridges: Mrs. (Jennifer) Yauck (a teacher at OCHS), nominated me. She asked if I would be interested, and I was just like, “Yeah, let’s do it!”
Q: What are your grades like?
A: Watkins: I would say I have all A’s.
Bridges: I try my best to get a 95% or higher. That’s what they were when I was chosen for the program. Right now, I can’t say that, but that’s what I always shoot for.
Q: What are your key takeaways from the program?
A: Watkins: The biggest thing I realized is that there is a lot of talent out there. It’s really inspiring to go to a place and see kids that are making the change that you want to see in the world, and being able to see them getting their career off the ground and pursuing that.
Bridges: I would say the people. I made a lot of good friends there, we still talk to this day. They really were like best friends and I loved being able to connect with others. Being able to have my own independent experience, like living alone, doing my own laundry, and all of those things I truly enjoyed.
Q: What are your plans after high school?
A: Watkins: I plan on majoring in economics. As for careers, I would say financial tech is what I’m looking at right now.
Bridges: I know I want to attend UGA. I’m not really sure what I want to do, I’m considering getting some type of business degree. After college, I would love to open a flower shop, but I’m not really sure if that’s the way I want to go. But possibly something biology related.
Ashby Booth is a freshman at Oglethorpe County High School.