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Week Five Recap

  • Journalists
  • Jul 26, 2019
  • 3 min read

By: Elisabeth Goodin and Jacob Woods


In the blink of an eye, our time at GSP has come to a close. Bellarmine University was the home for many scholars during the five-week program—so leaving was anything but easy.

Several classes spent their last week of GSP focusing on bonding with one another before they said their final goodbyes. Bellarmine University remained lively by offering multiple closing-week activities that left a mark on the scholars prior to departure.


Monday presented new horizons during the GSP College Fair. Scholars were able to walk around Frazier and see what different Kentucky institutions had to offer. The College Fair led into a College Panel that several scholars attended in hopes of learning additional information about applications, scholarships and how everyday college life operates. Scholars also got the chance to pick up our “mug books,” a type of GSP yearbook that scholars enjoy signing and using as a means to stay in touch. Seminar helped scholars with how to say goodbye to our new families and readapt to our home towns.


Tuesday was a continuation of learning new information about college. Speaker Aaron Thompson, current Head of Post-Secondary Education in Kentucky, took to the stage for Convocation Tuesday evening. Thompson shared his story which showed the power of hard work and tenacity. At lunch, the biological and environmental issues focus area hosted a “Wonders in Science Fair” with hands on activities to learn more about the world around us.


Wednesday scholars were hard at work, as focus areas only had one more in-class opportunity to work on projects. The last week started to get emotional as we could truly see our time coming to an end. The night concluded with the dramatic expression focus area’s play, Anon(ymous). Anon(ymous) is a modern take on Homer’s Odyssey; the dramatic expression students worked hard and it was evident as scholars remained intrigued and attentive throughout the play.


Thursday was the official beginning of the predicted end-of-GSP tears. Our last general studies and seminar had many people crying as we realized GSP can’t last forever. Following general studies, scholars had a chance to sign up for Thank You Letter Writing to write letters to donors who provided us a chance to attend GSP. Many seminars ran past time as we spent every second with each other.


Friday was our last full day in the GSP community. Our last focus area was in the morning and each scholar said goodbye to the friends they had been working alongside these past five weeks. After our last UDH lunch, we had our last community meeting. Scholars went back to our dorms to change into their best outfits for our final banquet. Countless pictures, memories, and laughs were shared. That night, the GSP staff hosted a lock in for the scholars to get every last hour together.


GSP has changed each and every one of us in ways we couldn’t imagine. Walking in thirty five days ago we didn’t expect to have this once in a life-time opportunity, new families, and calves of steel from the BU hill. Focus areas and general studies opened our eyes and possibly changed our voyage throughout our lives. What was once a new and scary environment quickly became home, a home we each will have in our memories and hearts.

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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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