The Governor’s Scholars Program is a summer residential program for rising high school seniors. Founded in 1983, it aims to enhance Kentucky’s next generation of civic and economic leaders. Alumni of the program have better opportunities to receive scholarships at in-state institutions, which encourages scholars to stay in the state for their post-secondary plans. Students stay at one of three campuses for five weeks, and these campuses change every three years. The 2024 scholars’ campuses were Centre College, Morehead State University, and Murray State University. Over the five weeks, students attend three classes: focus area, general studies, and leadership seminar. 

Focus Area: After selecting their top three choices, scholars are sorted into a single focus area, where they spend the next five weeks exploring their specific topic in depth. 

General Studies: The instructor selects a unique topic and randomly assigns scholars. This class emphasizes inquiry and resolution development through service learning and community interaction. 

Leadership Seminar: Scholars learn about themselves and others through thoughtful group discussions and activities.

 Schedule 

Every day at GSP is jam-packed with classes and activities.  Scholars attend classes from four to six hours a day. Along with required courses and events, several fun and exciting optional academic and recreational activities make the experience memorable. These include The Classic Film Series, Star Party, GSP Olympics, The Amazing Race, theme dances, clubs, etc. Elaborating on these events would take the fun out of experiencing them first-hand with your peers, so you’ll have to wait and see!  

The Experience 

The nature of the program can be compared to someone’s freshman year at college. Scholars are assigned random roommates, made responsible for being on time for class and doing their laundry, and (scariest of all) are forced to put themselves out there and make friends. For most, the five weeks spent at their campus is the longest they have been away from family and friends. In addition to the lengthy duration of the program, scholars are also not permitted to have their phones outside their rooms. While this may make some wince and write the program off, coming from someone who is on their phone way too much, it is truly astonishing to see how much a person can grow and learn when immersed in the world around them. 

Journalism and Mass Media Focus Area

To offer some insight into the types of classes taken at GSP, I will share my experience in my focus area. I selected the Journalism and Mass Media focus area. In this class, I could publish weekly articles for our GSP newspaper, film and edit a movie review podcast, and create a final project where one of my peers made a GSP recap video and posted it to YouTube. Being able to take this class was one of the highlights of my entire experience. Not only did I thoroughly enjoy learning everything about Journalism, but I also got to try new things I had never done before in the media world (podcasting, video editing, photography). In addition to this, I have also decided to minor in Journalism in college because of this. The program does a great job of keeping scholars interested and entertained while also expanding their knowledge.  

Linked below is the digital newspaper my focus area and I published. 

htthttps://thescholarly.weebly.com/ 

“Cheeri-uh ohs” General Studies 

Another example of a class taken at GSP is general studies. My general studies were titled “Cheeri-uh ohs,” throughout the course, we explored what makes a serial killer. We watched documentaries and interviews with serial killers and analyzed their body language to determine whether serial killers are made or born. We also completed research projects where we partnered up and picked a specific serial killer. We made slideshows about our killers and presented them to the class, along with our analysis of whether or not they were born evil or their life events shaped them into what they were. 

Why You Should Go

GSP was life-changing. The connections made, the things learned, and the confidence gained genuinely changed every scholar who experienced the program. Spending five weeks with such a diverse, engaging, and passionate group of individuals will not only help you grow as a person, but it will also secure friendships that will last a lifetime. To truly understand how meaningful the Governor’s Scholars Program is, you have to experience it. 

Application Tips 

The GSP application comprises five main parts: extracurriculars, service, honors, a written portion, and recommendations. The application process is very time-consuming, so you should begin your application approximately a month in advance to reduce stress. Many of the services can also be used as extracurriculars, so to save time, you can repeat paragraphs in the different sections. You must also have both a teacher and community recommendation. Ask people who know you well and give them plenty of notice when requesting a recommendation. They must fill out a GSP-specific recommendation, so to avoid any rushed last-minute writing, get them the required PDF ahead of time.

If you are interested in applying, more information can be found on the Governor’s Scholars Program website!

https://gsp.ky.gov/about/Pages/default.aspx