Avatars – Page 5 – The Gatton Academy News

Harlaxton Day 2: Jet lag, gone. Adventures, await.

July 23, 2019 | 2019 Harlaxton, 2019-2020, Avatars, Michael Givens, Study Abroad | No Comments

After a full night’s sleep and a filling breakfast, everyone is back to being wide-eyed tourists. The feeling of waking up in one of the biggest cities in the world was amazing. The possibilities of fun and experiences are endless. Before we could begin exploring the city though, we had to have our first class of the summer semester.

Each class is three hours long and lasts from 9 AM to 12 PM. During this class time, we started off by reading and analyzing the John Keats poem, “On First Looking Into Chapman’s Homer.” We followed this by discussing the themes of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights. Our final task was to discuss our upcoming essay regarding a social difference we observe while we travel around London.

Once class let out, my group and I headed to search for lunch. Due to our residence’s central location in London, almost everything you could need, including the tube station, is within about a 20 minute vicinity. We found some great sushi about 10 minutes away and then begin to plan the rest of our day.

We settled on heading to The British Museum. The museum was amazing! It became apparent right away why this was an international monument. A few of the galleries included Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, the Middle East, and Africa. Some of our favorite sections were the old coins, Vikings, and the famed Rosetta Stone. They even had real mummies in the Ancient Egypt gallery. After three hours of wandering around and admiring the history within those walls, we headed out for dinner.

We took our first tube ride of the day and headed to Leicester Square. We settled on a traditional English pub and had a great dinner. Afterwards, we walked around and looked at shop windows while enjoying some ice cream. We actually stumbled upon the theatre with the production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

London is amazing and we have enjoyed every second. Here’s to many more tube rides and great meals!

Michael

By Gatton Academy

Harlaxton Day 1: Arrival

July 22, 2019 | 2019 Harlaxton, 2019-2020, Avatars, Jack McCoun, Study Abroad | 4 Comments

The best feeling of any flight is the feeling of the wheels hitting your destination. After eight hours of being on a plane, the Gatton Class of 2020 landed in the London-Heathrow International Airport on July eighteenth. Immediately after arriving, we grabbed our bags, headed through customs, and passed into the United Kingdom. Right from the start of the trip, we had a pure British experience; riding in a double-decker bus. On the way to our accommodations for London, I sat in the front seat on the top level on the bus and watched as we journeyed through the dense streets.

The city felt like a concrete jungle, encapsulating us in a vast array of buildings. There were so many sights that I had not seen in the United States. One of these was that all of the cars in the UK had their driver’s seat on the right side instead of the left. In addition, there were very few fast-food restaurants in the heart of the city. People were also generally very to themselves, more concerned with their day than the city and its tourists. Once we arrived at our accommodations, we stored our luggage and ventured out once more into the city to find a place to eat lunch. London is a very diverse city with multiple cultures calling the city home. After searching for a good restaurant online, my friend friends and I chose a place that served poke. The food was unlike anything I had in America and was full of foreign flavors.

After lunch, we headed back to our home for the week so that we could unpack. Once we had returned, I went to my room to empty my belongings and rest. London is five hours ahead of my home in Kentucky so I was very tired. After eating a British supper at our accommodations, we headed for a screening of a film. The film, which was adapted from the Jane Austen book Persuasion, helped to close our busy day. By the end of the night, we were all ready for bed, and the next adventure on our long journey.

Jack

By Gatton Academy

2019-2020 Avatar: Ngoc Nguyen

July 22, 2019 | 2019-2020, Avatars, Ngoc Nguyen | No Comments

Hi! My name is Ngoc Nguyen—and no worries, I’ve got you covered: it’s pronounced “knock win.” I was born in Vietnam, but I immigrated to Bowling Green in 2008.

It has been very surreal for me to write this blog post for many reasons.

First, I remember myself as a freshman in high school, stumbling upon this blog for the first time as I tried to learn absolutely everything about Gatton. Sure, the academic rigor and the “infinite possibilities” interested me, but reading about the culture, adventure, and tightness of the Gatton community in the blog posts hooked me. I know I was very curious about this aspect of the Gatton Academy, so I hope our future posts will continue to enlighten this facet of Gatton for many curious prospective students like my past self.

Second, while reflecting back on the past school year to talk about myself, I couldn’t decide if the school year had felt like 3 minutes or 3 years. In 3 minutes, it seemed like I had moved in, experienced GRO Week, finished fall semester, and experienced CPS in the spring semester. In 3 years, it seemed like that was how long I had known the most amazing people I have ever met here.

Anyway, I guess I should really start describing more of myself now—sorry, I know this blog is all over the place.

My current passion is chemistry, and I have been pursuing polymer chemistry research with Dr. Lawrence Hill over the past summer with a Research Internship Grant. Initially, I thought I wasn’t smart enough to do this; I could barely keep up with my high school chemistry lab. But, with research, I got to move at my own comfortable pace guided personally by my mentor.

Other extracurricular activities I enjoy pursuing are swimming (fun fact: I took 2 swimming courses at Gatton that taught me how to swim), volunteering at the library, and interning with a local representative. I am also a member of the Science Bowl team and Science Dance.

I cannot wait for another 3 minutes or 3 years at Gatton—depending on how you look at it.

Ngoc

By Gatton Academy

2019-2020 Avatar: Austin White

July 22, 2019 | 2019-2020, Austin White, Avatars | No Comments

Salutations from an inexperienced and newly appointed Gatton Academy avatar! I’ve been asked to share all about myself and my past year at Gatton with whoever might be reading this, so here’s an attempt. Let’s see… Owensboro, meeting new friends, attending class, and tons of opportunities is a pretty good summary. See you guys in my next post!

HEY GUYS, LONG TIME NO SEE! Just kidding, I guess they want me to share with you all a few more details than that, so let’s jump into it. I’m originally from Owensboro, Kentucky and I went to Daviess County High School in Daviess County. DCHS was a pretty decent school and I probably would’ve been alright if I stayed there for junior and senior year. Although, I’ll be forever grateful that my mom brought up the opportunity that was The Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science .

For me, transitioning to Gatton meant leaving behind a few amazing friends, my family with seven younger siblings, and sweet, sweet Dave (my car). Once I arrived, I realized everything was much better than I thought. Most of my peers were going through something similar which made it so much easier to start a conversation. Even now, I feel like I could start chatting with anyone and end up with a new friend if they weren’t one already. Gatton has an amazing talent of fostering a tight-knit community, despite the two-year stay of all its students.

A few great contributors to that are the classes and schedules of all the students. I don’t think I’ve ever heard any of my peers say that they were the only Gatton student in their class, even with the countless classes offered through WKU. It’s likely due to how we’re used to challenging ourselves in our coursework at our home high schools. That habit definitely doesn’t disappear in the transition here which means that it’s pretty easy to run into at least one friendly face in your class.

The same can be said for the various extracurricular activities Gatton has to offer. I’ve had two of these experiences in my pursuit of some much-needed exercise and academic passion. At my home high school, I developed a love for soccer and played on the high school soccer team. Luckily for me, a group of guys who had the same experience came together to form an intramural soccer team. I was elated to join in and had an awesome time whooping some of the other WKU undergrad teams. My other happy accident was when I wanted to dive into computer science research. After emailing a generous professor begging him to let me join his lab, he told me that I could come to one of the lab member meetings and meet everyone. Lo and behold, I opened the door to the supposed meeting place and stepped in only to find my buddy Patrick sitting patiently in a chair. After talking to him, we quickly found out that we were there for the same reason. Even in the present, we’re still sitting right next to each other in the same research lab completing a Gatton Academy summer RIG (Research Internship Grant).

Thanks to all of the great people and opportunities at Gatton, my transition ended up being surprisingly easy. I’d even go as far as to say that the past year was my favorite out of the seventeen I’ve lived through. I hope this provides a little more insight into my Gatton life during my junior year and the far from lonesome adventure it was.

See you in my next post (hopefully),
Austin White

By Gatton Academy

2019-2020 Avatar: Matthew Johnson

July 22, 2019 | 2019-2020, Avatars, Matthew Johnson | No Comments

My name is Matthew Johnson, and I am a newly minted Gatton Academy Avatar and a rising senior. I am from Smithfield, Kentucky in Oldham County. My sending school is Oldham County High School in Buckner, KY and I am the middle of three children. I am originally from California, and lived an hour north of San Diego until we relocated to Kentucky when I was 13. Now I know what you are thinking. This pale, skinny, and small boy is from California? Yes, he is! When I moved to Kentucky, it shocked my peers to learn I was from the Golden State. The move was not at all easy on me, and the culture shock rippled through me every day. EVERYTHING was different, from the way people talked to what they wore to what was taught in school. People thought I was different too, and even called me “Fresh Meat” or “City Slicker”. However, I joined clubs and adapted, a skill that would be very beneficial throughout the rest of my life, and eventually when I would be at Gatton.

I found out about Gatton my freshman year from a friend whose older brother attended. I came home and told my parents about it, and we all thought it was too good to be true and there must have been a catch. There were no programs like this from our home state, as there was no money in the state government to run a program like that. My parent and I attended a preview day towards the end of my freshman year and I decided I would apply. Less than a year later, after applying and interviewing, I received my acceptance and decided to attend almost immediately, as I knew it was the place for me.

Gatton has so far been a great experience. I started the Genome Discovery and Exploration Program under Dr. Rodney King, Ms. Naomi Rowland, and Dr. Claire Rinehart my first semester. This class really showed me how interesting research could be and taught me a lot of basic scientific practices. Another interesting class was Macroeconomics, which taught me a lot about how the world works on a financial level. This was not a required course, but Gatton allows students to take classes that let us explore our other interests. This semester, I am really excited because I get to be a TA (Teaching Assistant) in the same Genome program I took as a junior to the new Gatton Academy juniors, so it really feels full circle. I also was a part of many clubs such a Y Club, the Gatton Academy Medical Association, the Gatton Academy Leaders in Education, and GSA.

Although I loved the Genome Program, I wanted to explore more individualized more related to my career of choice, which is an OB/GYN. I began researching with Dr. Rachel Tinius of the Exercise Science Department my second semester. Before my junior year ended, I received a Research Internship Grant from Mr. Gatton that allowed me to get paid while I conducted research for 8 weeks during the summer, which allowed me to fully devote myself to the research. We ended up looking at the effect of exercise on the presence of the stress hormone cortisol, and the whole summer was a great experience I am very happy I had.

This week, I am traveling to England to go on the Gatton Academy Study Abroad Harlaxton trip. I am beyond excited for this experience, and it is something I have been waiting almost a year for. Not many kids get to say they took a high school English class in England, but that is just another opportunity the Gatton Academy has given me. I love being a Gatton Academy student, and it is so bittersweet that I only have a little over a year of these crazy exciting opportunities left.

Matthew

By Gatton Academy

2019-2020 Avatar: Belle Begley

July 22, 2019 | 2019-2020, Avatars, Belle Begley | No Comments

Hello everyone! My name is Belle Begley and I am a rising senior at the Gatton Academy! I am from the small town of Springfield in Washington County. To date, I have met all of two people who knew where my hometown is located without me giving more information. In Springfield, I grew up in a family of seven which included five kids and two parents. Of those five kids, I was the youngest. So, while my oldest sister is married with three kids, I am heading into my senior year of high school. Crazy, isn’t it? I would go into more detail on my family, but unfortunately, this blog post would turn into a book.

To get a little more on topic, I heard about the Gatton Academy in the fourth or fifth grade from a magazine article my dad showed me. He told me all about the school and how good of an opportunity it was. I never thought about it again until it was October of my sophomore year and my dad came to me and told me we were going to try to apply for Gatton. I received my acceptance a few months later, becoming the second student to ever attend the Academy from Washington County.

Five months after getting accepted, I packed my bags, headed to WKU and I haven’t looked back since. The rigor of Gatton is unlike anything I have experienced before. It truly is the challenge I was looking for. I have had my fair share of late nights trying to study for an exam or doing homework I forgot about, but I wouldn’t give that up for anything. Through Gatton, I have met some of my closest friends, transformed into a mature, responsible student, and truly found the perfect place for me.

I am currently completing a Gatton Academy Research Internship Grant or RIG. Through this program, I will be completing an 8-week internship in the WKU Department of Chemistry with my mentor Dr. Bangbo Yan. My research is focused on finding a metal-organic framework with the ability to reduce carbon dioxide which could lead to a renewable fuel source. I began this research during my spring semester because of my interest in chemical engineering.

During this past winter break, I had the opportunity to study biodiversity in the beautiful country Costa Rica. This experience was one of a kind. During my two week adventure, I held baby leatherback sea turtles, saw skies filled with the brightest stars, and swam in the ocean for the first time ever! I would definitely do it again in a heartbeat!

Here’s to another year of learning, happiness, and memories! Senior year better watch out!

Belle

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2019-2020 Avatar: Jocelyn Martin

July 10, 2019 | 2019-2020, Avatars, Jocelyn Martin | No Comments

Hey everyone! My name is Jocelyn Martin. I am a rising senior, a dancer, an unsuccessful comedian and now, a Gatton Academy Avatar! I’m from Russell High School in Russell, Kentucky. It’s okay if you’ve never heard of it, as it’s basically a really small town five hours away from Bowling Green. As it is quite a ways away, you might be wondering, “How did you even find out about this school?” Well, I was a faithful VAMPY camper for years. For those of you who don’t know, VAMPY is a summer camp for Verbally And Mathematically Precocious Youth. In short, it was nerd camp. I attended nerd camp every year for three years and absolutely fell in love with it. One day, someone said, “Are you planning on applying to Gatton?” I replied, “What’s that?” They said, “Oh, it’s like VAMPY but all the time.” And here I am.

While I now know it isn’t year-round summer camp, I love it just the same, if not more. One of the reasons I really love it, is because now I get to choose my own classes. Creating your own schedule is really amazing because you don’t have to start learning until you want to. For some people, their ideal schedule runs from 8 AM to 3 PM. For me, my ideal schedule runs from 10AM to 1PM, with the occasional three hour lab. My junior semesters, I packed my schedules so that I could do all of the heavy lifting and relax my senior semesters. Now that I am in my senior semesters, I am relaxing. When I say relaxing, I don’t by any means mean I’m going to slack, I’ve just given myself a smaller workload.

Back when I went to regular high school, I was involved in numerous clubs and extracurricular activities. My sophomore year, I was involved with Academic Team, Science Olympiad, Cheerleading, Orchestra, and Community Theater, all while challenging myself academically. Even though I loved being so involved in my community, I knew Gatton was going to be rough change of pace, so I didn’t join any of the clubs that Gatton offers. However, last semester, I began taking classes at a nearby dance studio and this semester I am also taking a ballet class offered by WKU.

This summer, I continued my spring research project with Dr. Andrew Mienaltowski via the WKU Sisterhood Research Internship Grant award. I worked for eight long weeks before going abroad with my classmates to England. This study abroad trip is a part of the Harlaxton program with Gatton. We will be in England for three weeks just soaking up all the diversity and culture. We will also be taking English 200: Introduction to Literature, and as someone who adores Language Arts, I’m quite excited.

All in all, Gatton is an amazing experience and I’m beyond blessed to have this wonderful opportunity. It’s led to outstanding opportunities and some of the best people I have ever met. Sometimes, I look back and wonder what I would be like if I had never come to Gatton. Every time I do, I realize how grateful I am for this opportunity. Anywho, that’s my spiel! Thanks for tuning in!

Jocelyn

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2019-2020 Avatar: Maggie Gossage

July 10, 2019 | 2019-2020, Avatars, Maggie Gossage | No Comments

Hi friends! My name is Maggie Gossage, and I am from Russell Springs. My pre-Gatton experience was a unique one. I grew up with educators dispersed throughout my family, so education has always been a priority. Deciding to go to Gatton was a difficult choice because that meant leaving the best principal in the world, my dad, behind at my home high school. I wanted more than what the walls of Russell County High School could offer, and Gatton was just the place for me.

The Gatton Academy has allowed me to take classes in a range of departments and helped me find what I am passionate about. I entered Gatton with a firm plan to pursue psychology in every way possible. But after taking biopsychology with the charismatic Dr. Leslie Baylis second semester, I fell in love with neuroscience and biology. Psychology, though, has still been a major component of my Gatton Academy experience. Over this summer, I got the opportunity to conduct my own research project with Dr. Rick Grieve through the Gatton Academy Research Internship Grant, or RIG as the Gattonites call it. I spent my summer in the Clinical and Applied Research lab researching male body image and action figures physiques. This was a meaningful experience, as I got to write my first research paper that I plan to submit to the Regeneron Science Talent Search.

Sports and clubs were an integral part of my identity at my sending school. Although I don’t get to run 8 400-meter sprints back-to-back at track practice anymore (sarcasm very much intended), I still have the opportunity to participate in all of my old clubs from my sending school. This past year at Gatton, I was a member of Student Y, GALE (Gatton Academy Leaders in Education), Yearbook, Tennis Club, and Bollywood Movie Club.

One of the best things about going to Gatton, in my opinion, has to be getting the opportunity to study abroad. This summer, I will be traveling across the Atlantic to the United Kingdom for my English Literature class. I am thrilled that my first experience abroad will be with all of my closest friends!

The Gatton Academy has been my home for the past year, literally, because I reside there, but also figuratively. Gatton has introduced me to some of the best people I have ever met. The students are so helpful in every way and, well, I can say the same about the staff. I never go a day without feeling appreciated, and everyone makes it their priority to make everyone around them feel special. Whenever I step foot through the doors of Florence Schneider Hall, I am back where I need to be.

I cannot wait to see what my senior year has in store for me and for Gatton as a whole!

Maggie

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2019-2020 Avatar: Dalton Richardson

July 10, 2019 | 2019-2020, Avatars, Dalton Richardson | No Comments

My name is Dalton Richardson and I am excited to be an avatar and senior for this year at Gatton. But before I get into Gatton, I’ll give you a little introduction about me. I am from Fayette Country (aka Lexington) and my sending school is Frederick Douglass High School. I have always had a love for classes involving engineering or programming. Before coming to Gatton, I played a ton of golf and switched high schools after my freshman year looking for more of a challenge to my education. But, it wasn’t until Gatton that I found somewhere that was perfect for me.

In the week leading up to Gatton I was more nervous and excited than I had ever been before. But, after that first night, I knew everything was going to be great. Ever since then, everyone has been great and I have made some of the best friends I have ever had, have had some of the most fun I have ever had, and made some great memories.

Education wise, I have been pursuing to widen my understanding of programming by taking as many programming classes as I can. I have learned more than I ever thought was possible and have even started research within this area with Dr. Ziegler. Through this research, I have learned even more about programming and studied an algorithm called the Monte Carlo Tree Search. I have also been able to take other great classes, met some great professors, and discovered some new interests. Just a few of the most memorable classes I have taken include Psychology, American History, and Mobile App Development.

Another great part of Gatton are the study abroad programs. So far I have gone to Costa Rica with Gatton and, as of writing this, am leaving for Harlaxton in one week. Costa Rica was one of the best experiences of my life. I made many friends on that trip and made many awesome memories. Stuff like walking all night along the beach looking for sea turtles, hiking miles through cloud forest, or swimming next to a massive waterfall will stick with me forever. If Harlaxton is even half as good as Costa Rica was, it will be well worth it.

Gatton has so far been one of the greatest experiences of my life and I have no regrets coming here. There have been times where I have been more stressed and overwhelmed than I have ever felt in my life, but it was all still worth it without a doubt. I am excited to come back for one more year in August and am excited to meet all of the new juniors.

Dalton

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2019-2020 Avatar: Lorenzo Mahoney

July 10, 2019 | 2019-2020, Avatars, Lorenzo Mahoney | No Comments

Hello friends! My name is Lorenzo Mahoney and I am beyond ecstatic to be an Avatar for the 2019-2020 year.

A little about my story pre-Gatton: I’ve lived my entire life in Louisville, Kentucky and I spent the first two years of high school at Kentucky Country Day. There, between Quick Recall, KUNA, and cross country, most times my mentions of Gatton were met with a confusing stare. Nevertheless, the Academy has always been an idea in my head ever since I heard of it during my first year at VAMPY, a summer camp at WKU through the Center for Gifted Studies. Fast forward three years, and I was officially moving into Florence Schneider Hall with around a hundred new classmates, excited but anxious about what new adventures awaited me. Looking back now, little junior me had no idea what was in store.

First, academics. The rigor is unparalleled, but that is what makes achievement great. Before coming here, I had never taken a single biology class. One week in, I had already started research through the Genome Discovery and Exploration Program (GDEP) program to begin isolating and characterizing my own phage (a virus for bacteria) and attending lectures on proteins, genetics, and ecology. I was hooked. The classes at Gatton allow students to pursue STEM in a way unimaginable at their home schools, both in variety and depth. If you have a question, someone on campus has the answer.

Another aspect at Gatton I’m thankful for is the opportunities for research. After the GDEP program, which took me from a simple soil sample to seeing my phage under the electron microscope to presenting at WKU’s research conference, I was eager for more. So, with help from Gatton’s staff and a few emails and meetings with professors, I began biochemistry research with Dr. Sigrid Jacobshagen looking at circadian rhythms and growth rates of different strains of green algae in different growth mediums. The experience has not only helped me learn how to operate in a university lab but see firsthand the complex beauty of nature, all the way down to algal photoreceptors.

Outside the classrooms and labs, Gatton is more of a community than a school. The weekend movie screenings in the Den. Trips down to the recreational center with friends to exercise and de-stress. Helping each other through Calculus problem sets and computer science assignments. Through my junior year, I have been heavily involved in Party Club, a space for political discussion and debate, and our Envirothon team, learning about Kentucky’s wildlife, soil, and environmental issues. Under Gatton’s roof, there’s a group for everyone.

Coming up this summer, I am participating in one of the Academy’s Study Abroad programs, another thing that sets Gatton apart from most schools. To be receiving one of my English credits, I’m hopping across the “Pond” with around 50 of my classmates to visit England for three weeks and immerse myself in the worlds of Brontë, Austen, and Shakespeare. This is my first study abroad experience and I am excited for the trip of a lifetime. Overall, my first year at Gatton has been everything I hoped it to be and I can’t wait to have one more year with my fellow seniors and share it with the new juniors.

Lorenzo

By Gatton Academy

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