Centre News

At GSP, students are challenged with unique courses in the
sciences, humanities and social studies.

Small class discussions often take place outside on the lawn in
front of the Campus Center, above.

The students are already feeling at home on Centre’s campus,
enjoying the outdoor classrooms, workout facilities, library and
patio outside of the Campus Center, above.

Less than a week has passed since the 352 students taking part in the Kentucky Governor’s Scholars Program at Centre College arrived on campus, and already the scholars are starting to feel at home.

This year marks the 27th anniversary of the Governor’s Scholars Program, which began on Centre’s campus in 1983. Approximately 1,100 high school students participate in GSP each summer, and this year the students are divided among the campuses of Centre, Murray State University and Bellarmine University.

GSP provides outstanding rising high school seniors from across the state the opportunity to spend five weeks being challenged with unique courses in the sciences, humanities and social studies while experiencing residential life on campus.

“It’s a great program because it gives you the opportunity to study new and exciting subjects as well as to meet numerous people from all over the state,” says Amber Lyvers ’10 of Paris, Ky., who attended GSP at Centre in 2005 and is now serving as the program’s office manager on Centre’s campus. “These two opportunities may not be possible in high school without GSP. In addition, the program provides amazing resources and opportunities as far as getting into college, receiving financial aid and so on.”

What GSP provides, says Dr. John Kinkade, associate campus director and Centre assistant professor of English and humanities, is “an experience. That experience is more intellectual than academic. The life changes that take place at GSP come from relationships with other scholars, with faculty and staff and with new ideas.”

This summer, the scholars are gaining this “intellectual experience” in general studies classes like “From A to B: Appreciating History’s Most Bogus Journeys,” “Going Green the Wright Way,” “Advantaging the Disadvantaged,” “Extreme Makeover: Paper Edition” and many more.

Students are also looking forward to learning dance moves from a Peruvian instructor, visiting the Hummel Planetarium at Eastern Kentucky University, creating origami with local school children and traveling to the Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati.

Regardless of where they attend GSP, all participants who are accepted at Centre, are in the top 10 percent of their high school class, and score a minimum of 28 on the ACT (or the SAT equivalent) will be recognized with, at minimum, a $10,000 scholarship.