The University of North Georgia Summer Honors program provided 23 high school students from across the country an opportunity to strengthen leadership skills both in and out of the classroom.
From June 4-16, students spent much of the program completing leadership classes taught by UNG faculty in classrooms, gaining undergraduate research experience, and strengthening their leadership skills at the university’s Pine Valley recreation area and team building course.
“We are fortunate to have outstanding faculty from multiple UNG campuses who invest in our Summer Honors students. Our faculty not only showcase the diversity of courses and content available at UNG, but also help our students identify their own interests and leadership capabilities,” Kelly West, Summer Honors director and senior lecturer of biology, said.
Summer Honors, the only program of its kind in the region, attracted Daegan Broadhurst from Oakland, California. The rising senior at Oakland’s Bishop O’Dowd High School was looking at summer programs and decided to apply.
“We’ve done a lot of exercises that strengthen leadership skills,” Broadhurst, who has family in Georgia, said. “The activities are meant to push you out of your comfort zone and force you to step up even if you’re not ready to.”
Macie Merchant of Braselton, Georgia, came for the challenges the program offered.
“I wanted to be part of a program that would challenge me in areas I felt I was lacking in like physical, mental and leadership endurance,” the rising senior at Cherokee Bluff High School in Flowery Branch, Georgia, said.
Merchant said she wants to become a physician and would have to lead by example in that role.
“I also wanted to meet others that wanted to be good team members, good leaders. I thought it was a great opportunity to challenge myself with things like the aerial courses at Pine Valley,” she said. “This helped me grow so much in just two weeks. It’s shocking.”
The academic aspect was a bonus as it included an epidemiology course for the future physician.
Brooks Skelton, a rising senior at Fannin County High School in Blue Ridge, Georgia, took a different approach to the experience.
“I didn’t look too much into it because I wanted it to be a surprise. I knew I was coming to a summer program where I’d meet a bunch of people and do some physical activities,” he said. “I’m glad I came here, and I really enjoyed it. It was better than I expected. We did a lot of cool things.”
Jacoby Hastey, a rising senior from Southeast Whitfield High School in Dalton, Georgia, also embraced his time at UNG.
“I enjoyed it. I really didn’t expect it to be as fun as it was,” he said. “It was exciting to see people grow while going through the events. I learned a lot about leadership and ways to be a leader.”
A trip to Cleveland, Georgia, included climbing Yonah Mountain with an elevation of 3,166 feet. It was regarded as the hardest day of the program.
UNG is part of the University System of Georgia and is designated as a State Leadership Institution and The Military College of Georgia.
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