Centre News

Whether they’re reading by a fountain, engaging in lively group
discussions in Crounse Hall, playing cards outside the Campus
Center or doing yoga by Old Centre, the GSP scholars are making
Centre’s campus their home for five weeks.

GSP classes focus on everything from music and philosophy to
mathematics and Japanese culture.

Despite the heat, the scholars are eager to spend much of their
time outside, whether doing yoga or playing games.

Scholars flock to Cowan Dining Commons three times a day.

Ask any GSP student what has been the highlight of his or her experience thus far, and making new friends will be near—if not at the top of the list.

“One of my friends put it best: new friends make the experience and experiences together make new friends,” says Shauntel Fox of LaGrange, Ky.

Elizabeth Rexroat of Bedford, Ky. echoes these sentiments. “It’s interesting to see how we came from completely different counties in Kentucky and we have so many similarities in what we do and where we come from,” she says.

Jeremy Bradford of Lexington, Ky., a self-professed “math kid,” has been able to unite with fellow like-minded individuals in the program, including Matthew Fahrbach of Louisville, Ky. “I have a core group back at home, but I came here only knowing a few people. It was nice to find a lot of people that were kind of like me,” says Bradford.

In addition to helping in the making of new friends, the GSP courses have challenged scholars academically. Elizabeth Hansen of Lexington, Ky. has been able to learn about different customs and traditions in Cultural Anthropology. “You’re introduced to new ways of thinking,” she says.

A majority of the classes expose students to learning outside Centre’s campus through program-sponsored field trips. “My general studies is ‘Social Justice and the Immigrant Experience,’ and we went to an elementary school on the outskirts of Danville,” says Fahrbach.

Students enrolled in the Visual Arts course will take a trip to the Louisville Zoo on Friday, where the 20 students will paint animals from life. “I’ve gotten a lot of practice painting with watercolors, which I’m not really used to,” says Jacquelyn Scates of Franklin, Ky.

The courses have also given scholars a taste for what to expect from college, both academically and socially. “I think we’re getting the more ‘college experience,’ where it’s more hands-on lecture instead of busy work,” says Blake Soper of Mount Sterling, Ky.

The rising high school seniors will soon face the task of determining whether to stay in state for college. “After experiencing time away from family, I’m not sure if I want to go far away,” Soper says.

Still, scholars are enjoying the independence that the program provides. “I like the freedom of being away from home, getting to do the things I want but yet still under some guidelines,” Kintner says. “It’s been a great experience.”