Year: 2010

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Class of 2012 Admissions Pool Narrows as Interview Weekend Approaches

March 6, 2010 | Admissions, News | No Comments

Class of 2012 applicants cross the Commonwealth.
Class of 2012 applicants cross the Commonwealth.

With the February 15 application deadline passed and the March 20 Interview Day looming, the Gatton Academy’s Class of 2012 is quickly beginning to take shape.

275 students began the admissions process this cycle seeking admission for the Class of 2012.  In all, 125 applicants completed met all requirements at the deadline to receive consideration for selection.

Corey Alderdice, assistant director for admissions and public relations, explained that even though the pool of applicants was smaller this year, there was a substantial increase in the quality of those students completing applications.

“We have high expectations for Gatton Academy students,” Alderdice said. “Based on our experience over the last few years, we made the decision to raise the minimum ACT math score from 22 to 24.  For high school sophomores, that can be a big leap.  That decision was not to limit our pool but to ensure those students who applied have the tools necessary to be successful as Academy students.”

Applicants seeking interviews were reviewed based on ACT or SAT scores, responses to essay questions, grades from ninth and tenth grade, and a resume of awards and activities.  85 dynamic candidates emerged from the pool of applicants.

Students proceeding to the second phase of admission will attend Interview Weekend on Saturday, March 20, 2010.  The day will include interviews, a chemistry placement exam, course scheduling, a discussion of research opportunities, and sessions for parents.

“Interview Weekend is the final opportunity for a student to convince our admissions team that the Academy is the place they should spend their final two years of high school,”  Alderdice said.  “It can be stressful, but if students are passionate about STEM subjects, then the interview is simply talking about the things they love the most.”

Applicants will receive final notifications regarding selection no later than April 1, 2010.

For more information, contact Corey Alderdice at (270) 745-2971.

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By Corey Alderdice

[Video Blog] Cody and Justin Mind Their Own Business (FBLA Business, That Is)

February 25, 2010 | News, People, Student Life, Student Success, Video | No Comments

[Video Blog] Cody and Justin Mind Their Own Business (FBLA Business, That Is) from Gatton Academy on Vimeo.

Gatton Academy students participated in the 2010 Regional FBLA competition held on the WKU campus. In all, 9 students brought home trophies from the event. In this video blog, the guys discuss why business is a perfect compliment to advanced STEM learning.

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By Corey Alderdice

[Corey’s Comments] There’s Always Academy News to Celebrate, Follow it Via the ‘Gatton to Go’ Mobile App

February 19, 2010 | News, People, Photos, Staff | No Comments

The iPhone icon for the Gatton to Go mobile app. Click the image to preview the app in iTunes.
The iPhone icon for the Gatton to Go mobile app. Click the image to preview the app in iTunes.

by Corey Alderdice

It’s been a crazy busy week at the Gatton Academy.

Monday marked the official deadline for our Class of 2012 applicants.  Along the way, we have begun to receive word about some exciting scholarship opportunities for which our Class of 2010 students have been named semifinalists.  Summer plans are coming together with a combination of research opportunities and internships.  And lest we forget, Academy students got to meet and pick the brain of WKU alumnus and NASA astronaut Terry Wilcutt.

It would be one thing if this was a once-in-a-blue-moon kind of week.  At our “atypical high school,” though, it’s just like any other week.  Perhaps one of the greatest aspects of the academic and student life at the Academy is that it is the most vibrant learning community available.  Both in and out of class, Academy students have the distinct privilege of engaging in awesome learning experiences.

As Assistant Director for Admissions and Public Relations, I joke with friends that I have the easiest job out of all of the staff members at the Academy.  Our students week after week do great things.  All I have to do is let people know how great they are.  The stories on the website, tweets, and Facebook postings write themselves.  They really do.

In prepping to write this piece after posting stories, video blogs, and photo albums of the week’s events, I realized something special.  Since launching version 2.0 of the Academy website last January, we’ve posted just over 200 news stories, 5Q, video blogs, photo albums, Randon Wanderings, and other features.  Since the start of the new school year, it’s been our goal to share the best of academic and student life at the Gatton Academy via the website.  As we traveled around Greece during Winter Term, many of you followed us along the way.

I can’t say enough kind words to my Academy Avatars, our Residential Counselors, and other students and staff members who have contributed their thoughts, words, and photos to our posts.

The fact that prospective students, current students, parents, alumni, and hosts of other folks from throughout the country follow our news each day, means this is an exciting place to be.  For those who aren’t in Schneider Hall day in and day out, the website and our social media outlets are almost as good as living in Schneider Hall.  We’re closing in on 800 fans of our Facebook page.  That’s not too shabby.

Keeping up with all this information can be a bit of a challenge even for our most avid follower.  That’s why I’m happy to share with you the release of the Gatton to Go mobile phone app.   The app is available now as a free download available for both the iPhone (through iTunes) and Google Android OS phone (through Android Market).

The app combines our news, Twitter, Vimeo, YouTube, Flickr, and Eventbrite feeds.  Additionally, you catch up on posts from the WKU News Blog and tweets from The Center for Gifted Studies.  Rather than combing several sites, the Gatton to Go app combines all this great information into one package.

If a school had a website fifteen years ago, they were pretty cutting edge.  Just as our goal for students is to be innovators and creative thinkers, we try to mirror that belief in our work every day at the Academy.

This is just the start.  We’re coming up on some of the biggest news of the year.  Look for some great stories next week focusing on student acheivement and the WKU Undergraduate Research Conference.  In a matter of days, we’ll announce the students who are receiving interview for the Class of 2012 followed by the candidates for admission.  Before you know it, graduation and summer opportunities will be on the horizon.

Every day there’s lots to celebrate.  Our students, parents, and staff make these great things happen.

Like I say, I have the distinct privilege of getting to share it with you.

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By Corey Alderdice

Wilcutt Urges Gatton Academy, WKU Students to Keep Dreaming of Space

February 19, 2010 | Alumni, News, People, Student Life, WKU | No Comments

Academy Student and Staff had the opportunity to discuss space, STEM, and innovation in a small-group setting.
Academy Student and Staff had the opportunity to discuss space, STEM, and innovation in a small-group setting.

Even though the space shuttle program has only four missions left and the U.S. space program is facing an uncertain budgetary future, NASA astronaut Terry Wilcutt urged students at the Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science in Kentucky to keep reaching for the stars.

The seemingly impossible challenge of missions to the moon or Mars “takes the best the country has to offer,” Wilcutt said. “That’s you.”

Wilcutt visited with Gatton students Anthony Bombik (Boone ’11), Kaitlyn Oliver (Muhlenberg ’10), Tejas Sangoi (Daviess ’11), and Michael Phillips (Marshall ’11).

In the morning session with Gatton students and an afternoon session with WKU students, Wilcutt said one key to working for NASA or becoming an astronaut is an undergraduate degree in math, science, engineering or other technical fields. But the most important thing is simply to fill out the NASA job application.

“The number one reason qualified people don’t make it is they don’t apply,” said Wilcutt, a Russellville native and 1974 WKU graduate. “Most people in the astronaut office applied more than once. They had a dream and refused to let go of it.”

Wilcutt taught high school math in Louisville before joining the U.S. Marine Corps in 1976 and earning his wings in 1978. In 1986, Wilcutt was selected to attend the U.S Naval Test Pilot School and was selected by NASA in 1990 and became an astronaut in 1991.

“For all means, have the nerve to apply,” he said. “If this is your dream, you’ve got to give NASA a chance to say yes.”

Wilcutt was the pilot on two space shuttle flights in 1994 and 1996 and the mission commander on flights in 1998 and 2000. The retired Marine Corps colonel now serves as director of Safety & Mission Assurance at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Wilcutt has “mixed feelings” as the space shuttle program winds down. “They’re going to miss it,” he said.

Astronaut Col. Terry Wilcutt is a native of Russelville and a 19XX graduate of WKU.
Astronaut Col. Terry Wilcutt is a native of Russelville and a 1974 graduate of WKU.

Next up for the space program is “game-changing technology” that would take humans back to the moon or to Mars, he said. But President Obama and Congress must agree on the NASA budget and other space program issues, Wilcutt said.

“Now that the president has laid out his vision, it’s up to us at NASA to go out and do it,” he said.

The NASA budget is just one-half of 1 percent of the U.S. budget and has shown its benefits in medical, environmental and scientific research, exploration, international cooperation and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education among others, Wilcutt said.

“We’re not really an expense,” he said. “We’re an investment.”

Wilcutt said the best part of working for NASA is “the people you work with and the access to information” on topics like black holes, dark energy, cancer research, astrophysics and more.

“Every single day there something interesting coming through our office,” he said. “It’s like being a kid in the candy store if you have intellectual curiosity. No matter what you’re interested in, at NASA you’ll find the latest and greatest.”

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By Corey Alderdice

Video Blog: Sydney Blasts Off With WKU Alum, NASA Astronaut Terry Wilcutt

February 18, 2010 | Alumni, News, People, Research, Video, WKU | No Comments

[Video Blog] Sydney Blasts Off With WKU Alum, NASA Astronaut Terry Wilcutt from Gatton Academy on Vimeo.

Even though the space shuttle program has only four missions left and the U.S. space program is facing an uncertain budgetary future, NASA astronaut Terry Wilcutt urged students at WKU to keep reaching for the stars.

The seemingly impossible challenge of missions to the moon or Mars “takes the best the country has to offer,” Wilcutt told a group of students at the Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science in Kentucky. “That’s you.”

Later that afternoon, first-year student Syndey Combs has the opportunity to chat one-on-one with Col. Wilcutt about STEM, NASA, and making a difference.

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By Corey Alderdice

10 Gatton Academy Students Named National Merit Finalists

February 18, 2010 | News, People, Student Success | No Comments

10 members of the Gatton Academy’s Class of 2010 have been named National Merit Finalists.

Over 1.5 million students in about 22,000 high schools entered the 2010 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2009 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. Students are testing in math, critical reasoning, and writing. The 15,000 Finalists honored are the highest-scoring entrants in their state and represent less than 1 percent of each state’s high school seniors.

Tim Gott, director of the Gatton Academy, explained that National Merit recognition can help students open doors for college admissions after their course of study at the Academy.

“With this recognition, these students have earned a key that will open tremendous educational opportunities,” Gott said. “We look forward to seeing what these students will accomplish in the days ahead.”

All winners of Merit Scholarship® awards (Merit Scholar® designees) are chosen from the Finalist group, based on their abilities, skills, and accomplishments–without regard to gender, race, ethnic origin, or religious preference. A variety of information is available for NMSC selectors to evaluate–the Finalist’s academic record, information about the school’s curricula and grading system, two sets of test scores, school official’s written recommendation, information about the student’s activities and leadership, and the Finalist’s own essay.For Gott, that recommendation will be easy to give.

“It is an incredible honor to be named a National Merit Finalist,” Gott said. “These remarkable young people have been strongly prepared by their home high schools and the Gatton Academy is privileged to be able to contribute to the ongoing education of these outstanding students.”

2010 Gatton Academy National Merit Finalists:

Sam Brown (Greenwood High School, Warren County)
Thomas Choate (Warren Central High School, Warren County)
Amy Cordero (Pikeville High School, Pike County)
Cody Feldhaus (Conner High School, Boone County)
Jacob Haven (Bourbon County High School, Bourbon County)
Ballard Metcalfe (Eminence High School, Henry County)
Rohith Palli (Paul L. Dunbar High School, Fayette County)
Sarah Pritchett (George Rogers Clark High School, Clark County)
Katherine Rush (Franklin County High School, Franklin County)
Ryne Weiss (Madison Central High School, Madison County)

Scholarship winners will be named in Spring 2010.

For more information, contact Corey Alderdice at (270) 745-2971.

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By Corey Alderdice

Video: Legislators, Students & Educators Celebrate Gifted Education Week 2010 in Frankfort

February 12, 2010 | Gifted Ed Week, News, People, Video | No Comments

Gifted Education Week 2010 Proclamation Event in Frankfort from Gatton Academy on Vimeo.

The proclamation signing announcing Gifted Education Week in Kentucky was made in the Capitol Rotunda in Frankfort on January 27, 2010. Gifted students and educators shared the event with performances, speeches, and a reading of the proclamation. The event was sponsored by the Kentucky Association for Gifted Education. Learn more about KAGE online at www.wku.edu/kage.

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By Corey Alderdice