Senior Reflection: Kelly McKenna

Two years ago when I attended my orientation before coming to the Gatton Academy, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. At the time I knew I was going to the Academy to get more of a challenge in school, but I never expected what I received. I never expected to find completely new subjects I loved, visit 3 different countries, go to a national research conference, and make the greatest friends I have ever had.

Starting at the Academy I was ready to become a math major, but through taking other classes at the Academy, I found a love for both computer science and chemistry. Throughout my junior year, I tried to decide what I wanted to major in, and towards the very end I looked at my options with combining math, chemistry, and computer science. With this search I found the mystical field of chemical engineering. With more of an idea of what I was going to major in, I focused my senior year schedule to include more math and science classes. One of the things that I love about the Academy is the fact that I now have credit for the first four math classes and the first four chemistry classes I would have to take in college. This is a huge advantage over my home high school where I would be bringing in a lot less hours than I am now.

I was very lucky while at the Academy and I was able to participate in the Study Abroad program, visiting Harlaxton the summer between my junior and senior year, Greece the winter of my senior year, and China this May. All three of these trips were incredibly different, but more fun than I would have ever imagined. On a study abroad trip, you spend a lot of time with the people you are traveling with and get to know them so much more than if you were just spending time in the Academy. I would have never thought that in the same year I could have see a Les Miserables play on the West End in London, cheer at a Chelsea FC match, visit where Ancient Greece created democracy at the Parthenon, actually walk where the Ancient Chinese built a wall thousands of miles long, and where world records were beaten in the 2008 Olympics. Studying abroad with the Academy has changed my life so much, making me completely comfortable getting around in major world cities through taxi rides, walking, and taking the subway.

My second semester at the Academy I starting working on an independent research project, and just like so many things I did, I had no clue to what was going to happen. I enjoyed research so much that even though I was spending anywhere from 10 – 15 hours in the lab, I really did not care because I enjoyed the work. My work paid off with a publication on my first project, and then a trip to the national American Chemical Society’s spring conference. At the conference I presented in a poster session designed for graduate students (4 – 6+ years older than me), and I won a blue ribbon for a finalist in distinguished poster, which was such an honor to receive.

The one thing I will miss the most about the Academy is all of my friends. I never really had many friends I would hang out with in high school, but then once I came to the Academy I made an awesome group of friends. My junior year I had a role model to look up to, and my senior year I had a group of three juniors that I would try to help in any way I possibly could. Though the late night talks, stressing, and advice giving may not be a reality for me at the Academy anymore, I know I will still be in touch with all my great friends from the Academy years after we graduate college. Overall, I was very hesitant to first apply and go to the Gatton Academy, but I would never change my decision because I know I have had the best possible high school experience because of the Gatton Academy.