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Day in the Life of a Philosopher

Journalists
Jul 12, 20192 min read

By: Zoey Novak


Lisa Hicks, an instructor known for her love of knitting and hate of field trips, runs a bright and happy classroom focused on the topic of philosophy. As a 1994 scholar of Northern Kentucky University, she is more than qualified to teach at the GSP. When asked how she got involved with the Governor’s Scholars Program, she spoke of the impressive memory of Executive Director Ariz Cedeño. He remembered her as a former scholar and when needing a summer job years ago, he offered for her to teach at the GSP. In her daily life, Lisa is philosophy teacher for Stanford Online High School and serves as a dorm parent on Stanford University’s campus. 

 Each week, Lisa chooses one branch of philosophy to learn about specifically. When I visited on Monday, July 8th, it was the start of “logic week”. Class began with a game of “Psychiatrist”. It explores the concept of knowing yourself through pretending to be someone else while one scholar guesses the false identities. The game was a way to start the class with a burst of excitement. To calm down after this, students took time to read out of a book titled Do You Think What You Think You Think? This led to higher intellectual discussion based on their reading. 

 I talked to three scholars, Colin Carver, Sophie Rydzewski and Shaun Wimberly, to figure out how this class has changed their outlook on life. To begin, I asked Colin to tell me one philosophical thing he had learned, to which he responded, “big words are just regular words with more letters”. In a more serious tone, he told me that philosophy has made him think more deeply on life and its meaning. Sophie spoke of her love for the extensive discussion in the class, which she feels runs on a higher intellectual plane. However, she does not wish to study philosophy in college, as it may ruin her love for the topic. Sophie explained that the study of philosophy has taught her, “change is just a human construct”.  Shaun, on the other hand, does consider minoring in philosophy, as it has made him realize that knowledge only goes as far as one’s experience. According to Shaun, philosophy is a field of study that will help him to be equipped with a variety of tools for the future. 

 
 
 

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Faculty

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Jennifer Price grew up in Hopkins County, Kentucky and attended South Hopkins High School. She was a Governor’s Scholar at Murray State University in 1992, and was assigned the Social and Political Theory focus area. After high school, she attended Transylvania University and pursued a degree in Psychology. She finished her bachelor’s degree and then decided to complete graduate school at the University of Arkansas, where she received a doctoral degree in clinical psychology. She has been a member of the GSP faculty and staff for many years, ranging from 1994 to present. She has done every job available except be a focus area instructor. Jen was recently encouraged by her friends to begin running and even completed a half marathon last may. Jen is a wife to Pete, and a mother to two children, Jacob (15) and Eli (12).

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Josh Woodward was a 1992 scholar at Murray State University. After completing undergraduate school at the University of Kentucky, Josh obtained a Masters in Water Resources from Minnesota and a Masters in Teaching from Cornell University. Outside of the program, Josh teaches a variety of science classes at Berea Community High School. When asked about his favorite part of the program, Josh responded with, “My favorite part is the notion that the five weeks is not really the program. It is everything after.” Nearly thirty years later, Josh and his fellow scholars are still close friends. 

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Helen Heines grew up in Shepherdsville, Kentucky, which is in Bullitt County. She attended North Bullitt High School where she applied and was accepted to attend GSP at Murray State University in 2010. Upon graduation in 2011, she continued her education at Western Kentucky University with a degree in elementary education. Currently, Helen is a 5th grade social studies teacher in Louisville, and spends her summers deeply involved in the GSP community. She began working as a Resident Advisor (RA) at Bellarmine University in 2015. She began moving up the ranks to become head RA and then later she obtained the title of Assistant Campus Director, a title that she still holds. 

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