The Georgia Governor’s Honors Program, known as GHP, is a rigorous and highly selective summer program designed for gifted and talented rising high school juniors and seniors across Georgia. This year, the program is set to take place at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Georgia. Its four-week curriculum provides participants with a stimulating and intensive learning experience in various subjects. Out of the 4,200 state nominees this year, 600 finalists were selected, making its acceptance rate just under 15 percent. North Atlanta High School has the honor of claiming seven of this year’s highly accomplished finalists.
Participants apply for the program in a major about which they are passionate. The majors include everything from visual arts to engineering to agricultural science to communicative arts. This year North Atlanta has two communicative arts majors (Claire Collins and Katherine Mason), one music major (Alexandra Pugeda), one physics major (Zachary Wilson), one social studies major (Nathaniel Laing), and two theatre performance majors (Aria Brooks and Gabrielle Monplaisir). Sophomore Katherine Mason has had a passion for communicative arts her whole life. “I have been writing stories since I could hold a pen,” said Mason. “From being a kindergartener writing a story about the entire world turning into a trampoline to being a 10th grader writing the first episode in a serialized screenplay adaptation of ‘Little Women.’”
The application process is no easy feat. Initially, students must be nominated by a teacher in their subject area of choice. Once nominated from North Atlanta, candidates fill out an Atlanta Public Schools application. Applicants selected based on the initial written application and recommendations are invited to a district-level interview in mid-October. Then, if selected as an Atlanta Public Schools finalist, students complete an extensive written application catered to their designated subject area. Candidates advancing past this stage are selected as GHP semi-finalists. The final step of the process involves a statewide in-person interview held at Georgia Southern on February 24. After this intense interview, semi-finalists must wait on pins and needles until the finalist results are released. Micheal Robinson nominated five students for GHP in social studies this year, one of whom made it. “The nomination process was fairly simple,” said Robinson. “I first had to fill out a Google form to select them as some of the Social Studies nominees from North Atlanta and then if they made it through the first two levels, I wrote letters of recommendation as part of their semi-finalist applications.”
One of the most attractive aspects of the program is the college-like atmosphere it provides. Students reside in the Georgia Southern dorms, eat in the dining halls, and engage in various seminars, lectures, and classes in the lecture halls and classrooms. While the program does consist of a lot of class time, homework, and projects, there are numerous non-academic-related activities each day. Another draw is the opportunity to connect with peers from across the state who share similar interests and intellects. One of the things Sophomore Nate Laing is most looking forward to is being away from home and having a taste of what college life will be like. “I am very excited about having the experience of being on my own and getting to explore more of Southern Georgia on the campus as well as meeting various people from all around the state and learning more about social studies,” said Laing.
After a long and arduous application process, North Atlanta’s seven finalists will hopefully be rewarded with a transformative experience this summer. The program is set to begin on June 16 and end on July 13.
