Georgia Governor's Honors Program

{{Short description|Summer educational program in the state of Georgia}}

{{Spoken Wikipedia|Georgia Governor's Honors Program.ogg|date=2022-10-28}}

The Georgia Governor's Honors Program (commonly referred to as "GHP") is a summer educational program in the state of Georgia, in the United States. It is a four-week (formerly six-week prior to 2011, and originally eight-week) summer instructional program for intellectually gifted and artistically talented high school students of Georgia.

Rising juniors and seniors in Georgia's public and private high schools may be nominated for the free program by their teachers. The program's entire cost is covered by the state of Georgia. The Governor's Honors Program began in 1964 with 400 participants and was hosted at Wesleyan College.{{cite web|last1=Womack|first1=Carlise|title=Governor's Honors Program|url=http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/education/governors-honors-program|website=New Georgia Encyclopedia|publisher=Georgia Humanities Council and the University of Georgia Press|accessdate=19 January 2017}} It first took place at Valdosta State University from 1980 through 2016 (sometimes cohosted at North Georgia College in Dahlonega), then was relocated to Berry College in Rome, Georgia from 2017 through 2022, and is now hosted at Georgia Southern University.

There is no cost to attend GHP for students. Tuition, room, and board are covered under appropriations made by the Georgia General Assembly. However, students are asked to bring basic school supplies (binders, notebook paper, notebooks, pens, etc.) for class. GHP is an ungraded summer program. Students are not required to take any exit exams or standardized tests regarding major courses of study. Credits are not issued for completion of the program. Students that complete the entire four weeks of study receive a certificate of completion.{{Cite web |url=https://gosa.georgia.gov/sites/gosa.georgia.gov/files/GHP%202015%20Brochure.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2018-11-30 |archive-date=2017-01-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170130215234/http://gosa.georgia.gov/sites/gosa.georgia.gov/files/GHP%202015%20Brochure.pdf |url-status=dead }}

Nomination

Students are nominated in a specific instructional area in which their abilities, aptitudes, and interest lie. Each school system or private school is assigned a nomination quota based on the average daily attendance of its 10th and 11th grades.

Transcripts of grades and records, nomination forms, endorsements and other pertinent information are submitted to substantiate the nominations. Selected nominees then submit written essays and/or videos of their work. Each district or county has a different nomination process. From there, selected applicants are sent to statewide screening interviews/auditions.

The written evidence and data gathered in the student interview/audition are used to rank nominees and select finalists.

The overall acceptance rate of the program in 2017 was around 21%. However, this does not include the large number of students who were eliminated in school and county rounds or were not nominated. {{Cite web |url=https://gosa.georgia.gov/sites/gosa.georgia.gov/files/Governors_Honors_Program/GHP_2017-2018/GHP%202017%20Infographic.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2018-11-30 |archive-date=2018-12-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181201005221/https://gosa.georgia.gov/sites/gosa.georgia.gov/files/Governors_Honors_Program/GHP_2017-2018/GHP%202017%20Infographic.pdf |url-status=dead }}

In 2017, 58% of GHP students were from metro area public schools, 32% of students were from non-metro area public schools, and 10% of students were from private schools or were home schooled.

Instruction

Major instructional areas are communicative arts (English), Spanish, French, Latin, German, Mandarin Chinese, mathematics, science, agricultural science, social studies, visual arts, theatre performance, theatre design, music (woodwinds, piano, brass, strings, vocal, and percussion), dance, and engineering (design, electromechanical, and software). Staff in four support areas (Counseling, Fitness, Computers, and Library/Media) also work to assist the student body.

In 2017, the program hosted 450 students in academic major areas and 217 students in fine arts major areas. Among that student population were 72 world language majors, 75 communicative arts majors, 78 social studies majors, 225 STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) majors, 32 dance majors, 35 theatre majors, 46 visual arts majors, and 104 music majors.

Students may choose an elective in the first week of the program. The electives are commonly known as minors and include all the major areas of study along with others including Journalism, Counseling, Education, Ballroom dancing, Gender Studies, and Songwriting.

Each student receives 4.5 hours of major subject time on Mondays to Saturdays and 2 hours of elective subject time on Mondays to Fridays. Other time is free for meals, research, performances, practice, or seminars (see below).

GHP instructors are chosen according to their experience and recommendations. The student to teacher ratio is mandated to be at or very close to 15:1. In 2017, the student to faculty ratio was 13:1.

Seminars

Residential Advisors and faculty host seminars outside of instructional time, ranging from learning Hebrew, learning how to make impromptu presentations, or making friendship bracelets.

Notable Alumni

The following are notable alumni of the Georgia Governor's Honors Program, listed with their GHP major, year of attendance, and notable accomplishments:

class="wikitable sortable"

! Name

! GHP Major

! Year

! Notable Accomplishments

Christopher David Sarzen

| Music

| 1977

| Concert Pianist, Physician

Lane Davies

| Drama

| 1967

| stage, film, and TV actor—best known as Mason Capwell from "Santa Barbara"

Eve Carson

| Social Studies

| 2003

| Student Body President at UNC-Chapel Hill, murder victim

Wycliffe Gordon

| Music

| 1983

| Prolific jazz trombonist

Dale Lyles

|Visual Arts

|1970

|educator; GHP asst. program director for instruction, 1997–2009; GHP director, 2011-2013

Joe Gebbia

|Visual Arts

|1998

|billionaire; Cofounder of Airbnb

Joseph Searle

|Music

|1968

|educator; GHP director, 1996-2010

Michael Hester

|Comm Arts

|1987

|educator; 3-time coach of debate national champions; board member of JADE (Jamaican Assoc for Debating & Empowerment)

Wayne Knight

| Theatre

| 1971

| stage, film, and TV actor

Linda Griffith

| English

| 1977

| biological engineer{{cite web|title=Planning for the Future: The Governor's Honors Program Strategic Planning Report|url=http://gosa.georgia.gov/sites/gosa.georgia.gov/files/related_files/site_page/CVIOG_GHP_report_final_12012014.pdf#page=20|website=The Governor's Office of Student Achievement|publisher=Carl Vinson Institute of Government|accessdate=19 December 2014}}

Jack McBrayer

| Theatre

| 1990

| film and TV actor

Donald Glover

| Theatre

| 2000

| TV actor/writer, rapper (as Childish Gambino), comedian

Hunter Bell

| Theatre

| 1988

| Author and star of broadway musical [Title of Show]

Carrie Preston

| Theatre

| 1984

| actor, star of ["Elsbeth"]

Jeff Greenstein

| Science

| 1979

| television writer and producer

Robert Duncan McNeill

| Theatre

| 1980

| Actor "All My Children" and "Star Trek Voyager"

Randy Evans

| Mathematics

| 1975

| Advisor to Newt Gingrich

Matt Moore

| Mathematics

| 2000

| Chairman of the South Carolina Republican Party

Brad Strickland

| Mathematics

| 1964

| Novelist and writer, university professor

Jamie Barton

| Voice

| 1999

| Mezzo-soprano, 2013 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition winner

Antoine Kearney

| Voice

| 1989

| Baritone, 2013 Executive, Higher Education Services

Tyler Harper

| Agriscience and Biotechnology

| 2003

| Georgia's Commissioner of Agriculture, elected in 2022. Former Georgia state senator (2013-2023).{{Cite web |title=Commissioner Tyler J Harper {{!}} Georgia Department of Agriculture |url=https://agr.georgia.gov/Commissioner-Tyler-Harper |access-date=2025-06-09 |website=agr.georgia.gov |language=en}}

Wendi Bryan Carpenter

|Science

|1973

|31st woman designated as a Naval aviator; 1st woman Navy pilot promoted to rank of Rear Admiral; 10th President of SUNY Maritime College

Carl Sweat

|Social Studies

|1981

|President and General Manager, FUZE Division of The Coca-Cola Company, SVP Global Beverage, Starbucks; Awarded Gold Effie for Advertising Effectiveness by American Marketing Association

Carla Wong McMillian

|Social Studies

|1990

|Court of Appeals of Georgia; 1st Asian American elected statewide in Georgia

Alec Mau

| Communicative Arts

| 2013

| Broadcast Meteorologisthttps://www.wjtv.com/news/alec-mau/933723735>

Carl Clemons-Hopkins

| Voice

| 2004

| Actor (Hacks (TV series)) and 2021 Primetime Emmy Awards nominee for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy{{Cite web|url=https://www.emmys.com/awards/nominees-winners/2021/outstanding-supporting-actor-in-a-comedy-series|title = Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Nominees / Winners 2021}}

Zahra Karinshak

|Social Studies

|1984

|Lawyer; Georgia State Senator; 1st Iranian American elected to Georgia legislature

References

{{Reflist}}