2018-2019 Avatar: Elizabeth Roebker

I am a Gatton Academy Avatar—in training at least. My name is Elizabeth Roebker, and I am thrilled to be a senior this year. All about my life and Gatton in a paragraph: Unlike a lot of my peers, I did not know about Gatton until December of my sophomore year of high school. I am from Northern Kentucky, Kenton County to be specific, and my sending school is Notre Dame Academy in Covington, Kentucky. I am the oldest of four, and have lived in the same area my entire life. Since I went to a private school Gatton was not really promoted at home or something I was even aware existed. I found out about Gatton when an article was published about its success as a unique public school in Kentucky. My interest piqued, I scoured the website, like you may be doing right now, looking to see if hurrying up to finish the application was worth my time or something I was interested in doing. I realized pretty quickly that Gatton looked like a great fit for me, and here I am now.

Thus far, my time at Gatton has been phenomenal. I am taking some really exciting courses, both related to STEM and other more humanities-based courses. This semester I am taking my fourth year of Spanish, a really interesting public health class, and a business class along with the standard Gatton biology and math classes. I love having the freedom to choose classes that really interest me and schedule my day the way I work best. As a night owl, for me this means no 8 AMs for the first time in my life!

Since my first semester at Gatton I have been doing biology research with Dr. Noah Ashley on sleep deprivation in mice and zebra finches. Research has been a major aspect of my high school education, both at Gatton and at my sending school. In fact, it was probably the most compelling aspect of Gatton for me. At Notre Dame I took a science research course that required me to complete at least 144 hours of independent science research to be presented at at least two different conferences. Research at Gatton has been just as instructive, but also very different from research at the high school level. In high school I came up with the idea and grew the project from start to finish, whereas here at Gatton students find a project or professor they are interested in and then can work on their own project under that professor if desired later. I place a lot of value on both experiences and have learned a lot about myself and what type of work I like and dislike as a result.

I have always tried to participate in clubs and activities, both at Gatton and at my sending school. I think that getting involved really makes a community feel like home, which is why continuing to stay involved once I arrived at Gatton was so important to me. Last year I was involved with Y Club, FBLA, and Circle K Service Club. I also volunteered a lot at a hospital in my hometown and at Gatton’s Preview Days. I also enjoy taking advantage of WKU’s recreation center and group classes.

Aside from research one of the major reasons I had for applying to Gatton was its study abroad opportunities. Before coming to Gatton I had never left the country. This past summer I went on Gatton’s Harlaxton trip with 48 other incoming seniors in my class. Harlaxton was an amazing experience that I would definitely recommend. I cannot believe that I got to spend three weeks traveling around England with my best friends. Not only that, but I got to take a really cool class, Introduction to Literature, and see everything I read about come to life on our field trips. I absolutely loved London, even though it was very hot, and all the field trips from Harry Potter Studios to Stratford-upon-Avon. I am really hoping to travel with Gatton again over winter break, hopefully to Costa Rica to study Costa Rican biodiversity. I have heard great things about this trip from my peers, and think it sounds like another unforgettable Gatton experience.

 

Elizabeth