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Rebecca Montgomery: What I did this summer at GSP ACHS senior tells Chamber of Commerce audience about her positive experience as a 2015 Governor's Scholar at Morehead State University. She also shared her doubts as she prepared for the program, "...I wouldn't know anybody there. What if they were all different from me and different from what I expected? What if it was hard to make friends with complete strangers? What if my classes were boring and my roommates were annoying and the food was bad?" Rebecca was one of four student guest speakers at the Chamber luncheon who shared their memories of experiences in one of two programs, Governor's Scholars and Rogers Scholars. All student speakers were invited to send their comments to CM for reprinting. By Rebecca Montgomery Governor's Scholar, Adair County High School When you ask someone what they did over summer break, you get answers like "I read", "I watched movies", "I went hiking", and "I went on vacation". At GSP, I did all of those things. I read "The Republic" in my Philosophy focus area class. I watched classic movies at 8:15 on Tuesday nights in a packed auditorium. I hiked up a mountain to sit in a Buddhist temple with other interested students. And the whole five weeks surrounded by amazing kids my age was like a vacation into an intellectually-driven paradise. I'm Rebecca Montgomery and I'm here to tell you about my experience as a 2015 Governor's Scholar at Morehead State University. Even though I had heard a lot about the Governor's Scholars Program, I went into it not really knowing what to expect. Personal testimonies from my brother, his friends, and some of the students who gave this exact speech last year told me that it was five weeks of great fun and engagement. A presentation for prospective scholars a few months before application time told me that it was a time of exploration, stimulation, and growth. On the first day of the program, they stood on stage and stressed the word "community", telling us that we would all grow close and form strong bonds and experience an unforgettable summer together. Even with all this positive talk, I was still nervous about what those five weeks would hold. As I typed my application, read my acceptance letter, and made lists of everything to pack, doubt still clouded my mind. I wouldn't know anybody there. What if they were all different from me and different from what I expected? What if it was hard to make friends with complete strangers? What if my classes were boring and my roommates were annoying and the food was bad? With all the nervousness weighing me down as the opening day grew closer, I was almost hoping that something would come up to keep me from going. Luckily, nothing did. If something had, and my five weeks were spent elsewhere, I would have been relieved in the moment. But I would never know what I had missed, just as I had never known what I would experience. Everything I had heard was true, unbelievably so, but nothing anybody said could completely capture all that those five weeks gave to me. In a small school in a small town with limited resources and opportunities, it's easy to get used to only using what you're given, but at GSP I met students who had done much more with much less. There were kids who had started their own businesses and organizations, reformed their student government, and created community events so ambitious they almost seemed impossible. There were over 300 kids on that campus, and I never met a single one who was not interested in making a difference. Everyone was there because they wanted to be and they had worked hard for it, and everyone was dedicated to using whatever skills and talents they had to achieve their goals. And these weren't kids who had locked themselves in studies and never spoken to other humans. They were kids with whom I not only discussed Plato in Philosophy class and learned guitar alongside in General Studies, but with whom I ate meals, played foosball, tried (and failed) at racquetball, learned card games, played Clue and Jenga and frisbee, discussed favorite childhood cartoons and activities back home and what we thought of Donald Trump. It was incredibly inspirational and motivating to be surrounded by so many extraordinary ordinary kids. They gave me a new outlook on life and the people around me, and gave me great hope for the future. In my General Studies class, which I mentioned earlier, we learned how to play the guitar. I had never had any interest in learning, but, surprisingly, I really loved it. Part of what made GSP so spectacular was the opportunity and encouragement to try new things. Because of that chance, I learned that learning the guitar is really exciting to me, and I also developed a new appreciation for country music. There's something about playing along with Achy Breaky Heart that really gives you a different perspective. In that class, we took a field trip to a bluegrass festival. The music was good, the barbecue was delicious, and the sun was hot. In the evening as we were loaded onto the bus ready to go back to our dorms, a man climbed aboard. He said that his sister and his children were Governor's Scholars and that he knew what we were like. He told us that we were the future, and we had been given a gift for a head start in the world, with a greater likelihood of global impact. But nobody will hand us our future opportunities, he said, we will have to work hard to achieve everything we have the potential to do. I remember he kept saying "You are the elite". I don't think I am elite, and I don't think anybody on the bus really seconded his statement, but it was a profound experience. Of course people tell kids all the time that they can do great things and make an impact, but it was stunning to see such total faith from a complete stranger. This guy, just someone at a bluegrass festival, climbed onto a school bus at 8:30 pm just to tell a bunch of kids that we are powerful, that we are important, and that we are being rooted for. That's the feeling that GSP gave me. Every adult there respected us and wanted to see us thrive. They didn't laugh us off just because we were young, and they didn't doubt us just because we'd only been through three years of high school. Approaching senior year and sending off college applications, that confidence is exactly what I and all other students need. For five weeks, I spent nearly every moment with the greatest people I've ever met, and for five weeks adults treated us not like children or troublemakers or hormonal messes, but like real people with great potential. I am incredibly grateful to be able to stand here today and tell you about my summer, and I am grateful that this is something you want to hear. GSP prepared me for my future, in technical ways by teaching me about financial aid, in emotional ways by giving me a taste of college life, and in mental ways by showing me that the world is in incredible, competent hands, and those who are holding it now truly believe that we are capable. This story was posted on 2015-10-19 11:43:20
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