This past week, sophomores Kylan Ferrell, Victor Chin, Melissa Babigumira, and juniors Will Bowerman, Chaebeom Lim and Cooper Laliberte were nominated into the Governor’s Honor Program. This four-week summer program is designed for rising juniors and seniors, showcasing their academic and artistic skills. Students go through several stages, including nomination, online applications, interviews and auditions, to have the chance to hopefully be chosen for this program.

“The governor’s honors program is a summer program, which is this highly prestigious thing where you go and take classes with some of the best professors in the country and certain subjects in certain classes,” Bowerman said.

Being nominated for the Governor’s Honors Program is just the first step in a lengthy process. Part of the application process is choosing a specific category to specialize in for the summer classes. There are numerous divisions you can apply for. 

“You could choose from categories like languages, Spanish, Chinese, and French,” Chin said. “They had math, physics, chemistry, engineering, and they had instruments too, if you play an instrument. I chose electrical engineering because I want to be able to build stuff.”

After choosing a category and submitting the application, there are a few more steps to get accepted. These next parts depend on what category you chose to study.

“For me, since I chose trumpet, I have to do roughly an eight-minute video audition and send it in, which is due in December. I’ll have to record a bunch of music, improvise some stuff, and send it to the judges,” Bowerman said. 

This distinguished program has an acceptance rate of just under 15%, making this a difficult program to get accepted into. However, if accepted, students will take classes over the summer to gain better knowledge of their specific division.

“If I’m accepted, then I need to go to a weekend-long retreat with a lot more people and learn more about music,” Ferrell said. 

Since the acceptance rate is very low, many acceptees use this program to add to their college application. Being nominated is a big deal for our students.

“I feel pretty good about it. I think I have a solid chance. It’s obviously a hard thing to get into, but I’ve tried to just put myself out there, so I think it’s a good opportunity for me,” Bowerman said.

The Governor’s Honor Program allows students to get a better understanding of the application process, as well as learning more about a certain topic that interests them. Students who are accepted also have the opportunity to connect with other students who have the same area of interest, which can lead to lifelong connections.

“It is a good opportunity to learn, get something better for your college application, and just do something with your summer,” Bowerman said.