Published: June 27, 2009 10:03 pm      

Local students attend Governor’s schools

Local high school students are spending their summer getting a taste of college life as they spend weeks living and learning on a university campus.

Thirteen students from Madison Central, Madison Southern, Berea Community and Model Laboratory School are participating in the Governor’s Scholars Program and three students from Central, Model and Berea are participating in the Governor’s School for the Arts.

Established in 1983, GSP is designed to help students grow academically and personally with a “full co-curricular and residential life experience,” the GSP Web site said. This year’s students will live on the campuses of Bellarmine University, Centre College and Morehead State University.

Local students who are participating in the five-week program include Taryn Adams, Matthew Bendure, Caliesha Comley, Kelly DeBarr, Tyler Logan, Jacob Welch and Sarah Welch from Central; Elizabeth Heyrman, Stephen Riddle and Kathryn Wallace from Berea; Blake Newmann and Charles Smith from Model; and Southern student Jessica Price. The program has three different sessions throughout June and July.

GSA is a three-week program at Transylvania University that has graduated over 3,800 students since 1987. The program is for young artists and is dedicated to “developing students’ creativity and initiative,” the Web site said. Participants receive hands-on learning to shape them into artists and “advocates of humanity, teaching them to give more than they receive,” the Web site said. Through experiences offered, the program hopes to add to the student’s understanding and gain a greater appreciation of their art form.

GSA, which began Sunday and runs through July 11, specializes in architecture, creative writing, dance, drama, musical theater, instrumental music, new media, vocal music and visual art instruction. Collin Hester from Berea and Sara Smith from Central will participate in musical theater and Model student Andrew Sehmann will study instrumental music.

After the completion of the programs, participants are eligible for multiple post-secondary education scholarships at numerous state universities including full tuition at Eastern Kentucky University, University of Kentucky, Union College, Northern Kentucky University, Lindsey Wilson College and others.

Brittany Davenport can be reached at 624-6624 or news@richmondregister.com.