State finalists named for ’23 Governor’s Honors Program

A total of 14 students representing each of Fayette’s public high schools have been selected to attend the 2023 Governor’s Honors Program (GHP) on the campus of Georgia Southern University June 18-July 15.

GHP is a four-week intensive study of undergraduate, graduate, and professional-level coursework, and experience in a given field. Students spend approximately 27 hours a week in highly-advanced classes in their fields, encompassing 20 areas of study. The Governor’s Honors Program is fully-funded by the Georgia General Assembly, so there is no charge for students to attend.

Representing Fayette County High is Taylor Williams (Social Studies).

Representing McIntosh are Lile Gibney (French), Roshan Kolachina (Biology/Environmental Science), Sage Shah (Communicative Arts), Harsh Singh (Programming), Carson Toenniges (Communicative Arts), and Lucia Vitulo (Communicative Arts).

Representing Sandy Creek is Neilah Bell (Voice: Soprano).

Representing Starr’s Mill are Julian Agudelo (Voice: Tenor), Katherine Rausch (Physics), Ginger Swayne (Biology/Environmental Science), and Chen Yang (Mathematics).

Representing Whitewater are Christian Kofoed (Mathematics) and Carpenter Ray (Mathematics).

Nomination to the program is a multi-part process beginning at the school system level with an exam in the students’ selected subject area. If students meet the cut-off score, they participate in a county-level interview, which determines the nominees who are invited to complete a state application. The Governor’s Office of Student Achievement selects a limited number of students to interview at the state level. Finalists are selected from this final group.

GHP has been in operation more than 50 years, making it the longest continually-running program of its kind in the nation.