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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