Over the course of her junior year Callie went through an application process for what is known as the Governor's Scholar Program, or GSP for short. This is a well known program for rising seniors in Kentucky where, if selected, you spend five weeks on a college campus with around 350 other rising seniors from all around the Commonwealth. You take classes in areas of specific interest, go on field trips, and spend time getting to know kids your age from all over. It is also free. We had heard nothing but great things about it and were so excited when Callie was accepted. Her initial excitement level was low because it meant five weeks away from friends in the summer and missing the first days of high school soccer. But she knew it was a great opportunity that she should take advantage of and leaned into it.
Everything about the process was good preparation for college both in terms of the application itself as well as outfitting a dorm room and spending weeks away from family. Callie was placed at Morehead State University, just a little more than an hour away from Lexington. The campus is in a pretty setting and we got a full move-in experience from the crowds of people, overloaded elevators, and nervous introductions to new roommates.
Callie shared a dorm room with three other girls and the first roommate she met is pictured here. Her name was Maybe and she was from Hopkinsville. The girls hit it off and we went to lunch with her family in the time we had before the official opening ceremony. This is the 42nd year of GSP and they have a very organized structure that is proven to work well for all involved. At the opening ceremony they lay out the rules pretty clearly for parents and scholars alike. One of the best rules is that the scholars can only use their cell phone when they are in their dorm room. Outside of the dorm room they should not have their phone on them. It is absolutely fantastic and it is a rule that anyone who goes through the program continues to support.
When the ceremony ends the parents leave and then line the walkway outside of the auditorium. The students then come out in groups according to their academic focus area. We managed to get a glimpse of Callie as she walked with her Engineering crew and were delighted to see that she was already chatting it up with one of her classmates. It was a sign that she was going to be okay and that's all we could ask for.
In the five weeks of the program there is one day designated for visitation. The second Saturday of the program we were able to pick Callie up at 8am and she didn't have to be back until 10pm. We decided to rent a pontoon boat so we could spend the day on a lake near Morehead. Everything about the plan was perfect until that Friday when Sarah tested positive for Covid. Not only did she feel bad but we knew it was not in Callie's best interest to expose her. That meant it was only John and Reese who made the trip and got to see Callie.
We weren't sure how Reese would respond to five weeks without her sister. The good/bad news is she seemed to be perfectly fine. That being said she was over the moon to spend the day with Callie and they had a fantastic time jumping off the boat, floating in the inner tubes, and just relaxing. Sarah made sure we had a full cooler of snacks and treats in order to maximize the time on Grayson Lake. And Grayson Lake turned out to be a great place to go.
In very small world twist of fate, John has an interesting connection to Morehead going back to his college days. Two of his college spring breaks were spent in Morehead with a group of Yale students working in partnership with a non-profit helping build houses in the region. And during that week John and his classmates slept in the basement of the Catholic church associated with the university. So John made the girls take a picture with him in front of the building he had once slept in over three decades ago.
Callie and Reese communicated quite a bit during the five weeks, whether it was Face Time or texting. And Callie's program ended up providing a great opportunity for them to connect in person. Callie's Engineering class had field trips each week and she went to the Toyota Plant in Georgetown, the McAlpin Dam in Louisville, a water power plant somewhere, and the Engineering Department at the University of Kentucky. That UK field trip is what enabled this photo to happen as Reese conveniently ran into her sister at the Chipotle on campus. Reese had to work some logistical magic to make it happen, but she can do great things when she puts her mind to it.
It is amazing how quickly five weeks can fly by. Before we knew it the time had come to pick up Callie. Sarah and John actually drove up the night before to load up most of the gear from her dorm room to make the next day departure easier. We didn't get to see Callie during that process because they have a tradition for the last night that involves little sleep and no parents. The closing ceremony the next day was wonderful and it the final good-byes made it clear that Callie had not only had a great time but that she had made lots of good friends.
Due to unfortunate timing Sarah was not able to make it to that closing ceremony which meant that it wasn't until she got home from work that day that she finally got to see Callie in person after five whole weeks. Mother and daughter were finally reunited and it was great to have her home just in time to jump into her senior season of high school soccer.
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