It’s 3:35. The bell just rang and everyone’s running out in the sun. Summer vacation is here at last. Now pack your bags and get ready for five weeks of residential academic experience!

Like any typical teenager, the sound of that is not amusing.

How about five weeks on a college campus with hundreds of other awesome, intelligent students and you get to take field trips, hear guest speakers, and ultimately have the best summer of your life. That sounds better, right?

The experience is better known as Kentucky’s Governor’s Scholar Program. GSP provides academic and personal growth through community participation and awareness.

The Governor’s Scholar Program is very prestigious and it is a well-known honor to get accepted.

Getting started with the application process can be overwhelming, but the benefits you get if you are accepted are totally worth it. “Take your time and start as soon as possible and revise, revise, revise!” said GSP alumnus Taylor Kincaid.

Juniors who have taken the ACT, PSAT, or SAT: To get started on your application if you haven’t, go to gsp.ky.gov and you’ll see all of the 2017 information.

Rough draft meetings are underway to help students brainstorm and help them
perfect their applications.

Nov. 7 is the deadline for completed applications to be turned in to your counselor,
Mrs. Cope.

Kentucky has the largest GSP program in the country; they accept the most people. “People get caught up in the numbers, but it accepts a wide range of students so you might as well try,” said Kincaid.

The GSP experience takes you away from your home but helps you find who you are and your passions. “GSP emphasized a lot of keeping your pride in your state and acknowledging the beauty of where you come from,” said Kincaid.

To be chosen for the Governor’s Scholar Program is a high honor and you must possess a strong commitment to your experience.

Juniors: work your applications as much as possible to show that you deserve this chance, for it is an envied experience.

GSP is an opportunity to grow as a leader, student, and member of the Commonwealth. The application process is lengthy, but totally worth it if you are selected.