For people like Jessica Adkins, 17, the Governor’s Scholars Program is just a natural and exciting part of life. At any given moment, Adkins is likely to be found at this 5-week summer camp, with a group of diverse students from all over Kentucky.
Though she rarely makes appearances with the same people, she has had no problem blending in—or standing out—here at GSP.
The 26-year-old program allows bright students, like Adkins, the chance to meet other students from around the state. Over a thousand students are chosen to spend their summer on one of three campuses hosting GSP. Bellarmine University where Adkins resides hosts over 300 students for the 2009 program.
Adkins says she has no problem approaching people and talking to them, even though she only knew one person before she arrived.
“Just about anyone I meet, I tell them my name and ask them theirs,” Adkins said. “It’s important for me to remember names because it doesn’t make people feel guilty if they don’t remember mine. There’s one person here who goes to my school, but then I was also reunited with my first grade boyfriend,” Adkins said with a slight smile.
Though her attitude may seem bold, Adkins is not as unique in her personality as some might think. Fellow scholar Hali Whitt attempts to embody the same outlook on GSP. But while Adkins comes from a large high school in Lexington, where each class has nearly 400 students, , Whitt attends a school in Sandy Hook, Ky. with fewer students than 300 – the number of scholars on the Bellarmine University campus.
“I didn’t know anybody,” Whitt said. “There were three other girls from my school [who got in], but they’re all at different campuses, which was hard for me at first.”
Whitt struggled through her first week at the GSP as she attempted to live in a whole new setting. The athletic red-head sat in her first general studies class at the far edge of the table, shy of the new students chatting around her.
“[Before I came] I was very nervous, but excited at the same time because of all the diversity,” she said.
Though Whitt didn’t find herself in familiar surroundings, she was still eager to experience something new. As the weeks passed Whitt began to express her excitement over meeting people much different from her small, eastern Kentucky town.
“I thought it would be a lot harder to meet new people and connect with them, but it was easier than I thought,” she said.
Through class activities and campus events, Whitt and Adkin
s were indistinguishable. Both could be seen making new friends and trying new adventures, like dissecting Twinkies, going on fieldtrips to the Louisville museums and joining the GSP talent show, Showcase.For students like Whitt and Adkins, just getting in to the Governor’s Scholars Program is an accomplishment. The applications are twice the number of acceptances and the scholarships to Kentucky colleges and universities can be large. Most students who come to GSP have strong academic backgrounds and have been active in their communities, but may have not experienced much beyond their own backyards.
“I was really excited, because I love meeting new people,” Adkins said. “There are no cliques here, and I’m excited to see how things play out. You can be who you want.”
Adkins’ idea of coming to GSP to meet new people is common among many scholars. To many people, the thought of going outside of their comfort zone to do something new is intimidating.
“There’s no typical ‘GSP’ kid,” Adkins said. “People are really warm, and we’re all different with some things in common. Everyone’s just really friendly.”
Even though Adkins and Whitt come from two completely different backgrounds, they share that common idea.
“Now I’m glad [that I didn’t know anyone before coming],” said Whitt, “because I got to meet lots of new people, and I think I’ll have a better knowledge of myself.”