Six Oglethorpe County High School students have been nominated for Georgia’s Governor’s Honors Program.
Imani Lawrence, Su Moo and Elin Turner were nominated in social studies, Callie Bridges was nominated for agriculture research, Kendall McCurdy for music and Kayden Watkins for mathematics.
“The Governor’s Honors Program is a program that’s meant to recognize students who really have a passion, or a level of excellence, in different academic or CTAE (Career, Technical and Agriculture Education) and fine arts areas,” said Jennifer Yauck, an instructional coach in the science department at OCHS.
GHP is a month-long summer program for sophomores and juniors at Georgia Southern University, where finalists attend classes and participate in a variety of social and instructional opportunities, according to the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement website.
The program is free. The only costs are travel expenses and supplies for the dorm room and classes.
GHP strives to teach students things they might not be able to learn at their schools. Students will take classes in their dedicated field in the morning, followed by social events in the evening.
“While they’re there, they’ll get to work really closely with professionals and other people who are really kind of experts in their field,” Yauck said. “And, very much, we think of it as going to class, but it’s not like we think of class here. It’s where you really get to work with other students and people who are just as passionate as you are in your discipline there.”
Students are nominated by a teacher in a specific area of study, then the student fills out an application consisting of written components, portfolios or performances, depending on the area for which they were nominated.
Nominees will find out Friday, Feb. 2 if they made it to the semifinal round, where they will go through a round of interviews. Finalists will be selected in March.
About 700 students from across Georgia will be selected to participate in this summer program.
“To even get nominated at this level is quite an honor,” Yauck said.
Bridges, a sophomore from Lexington, has been surrounded by agriculture her entire life, thanks to her family’s Angus farm. She has been in FFA since the sixth grade, where her specialization is showing beef cattle.
“I’ve been surrounded by agriculture my whole life, so I just figured, why not get involved in FFA?” Bridges said.
McCurdy, a sophomore from Winterville, is nominated as the only oboe in the high school band department. She also plays the clarinet and participated in color guard and drum major this past football season.
“I love the friendships that you make. It’s my second family,” McCurdy said about the band. “I’m very close with the band director and the color guard instructor. I love the musicality of being in there, just getting to express myself.”
Watkins, a sophomore from Winterville, has always loved math, and said it’s his favorite subject. He takes AP precalculus, but outside of the classroom, Watkins is involved in the marching band, where he plays the baritone saxophone. He also plays in an ice hockey league in Athens.
Lawrence, a junior originally from Athens, said she would love to attend this program because “I like to see different viewpoints on history from other people. I feel that this opportunity would be good for me to connect with people who think like me and go further in life with it.”