“Summer School is Fun?”: Governor’s School Students Share Their Exciting Summer

The Governor’s school West Campus at Greensboro College. Photo Cred: Charlie Stumb

Sofia Carmichael, Community Desk Lead

Most wouldn’t think of summer school as a fun way to spend your vacation, but those who attended Governor’s school might beg to differ. At this 4-week summer program selected students fully immerse themselves in a specific area of study, live at a North Carolina college, and meet new people from all over the state. 

All students pick one of the following areas of study: dance, English, choral music, instrumental music, mathematics, natural science, social science, Spanish, theater, and visual arts. From Watauga High School, Leo McEvoy and Charlie Stumb decided on social science, and Sylvia Afanador attended for Spanish. 

“I decided to go for Spanish because I love the language and love learning the language,”said Afanador. “It’s a part of my family, so I thought it would be really cool to experience.”

The application process requires high grades, a showcase of activities, and teacher recommendations, but the essays are the standout and allow students to both sell themselves as fit for the program in addition to showing interest in an area of study. 

“There was a personal one where you talked about a challenge that you overcame, " said Afanador. “And, for Spanish, I talked about a social movement that happens in both a Latin American country and America and compared them.”

Unlike a regular school day, at Governor’s school students only focus on one area of interest each day, but they still have a few electives there. 

“You start your day off with what they call your ‘area one’ which for me was social science for the first part of the day," said Charlie Stumb. “Second or third period is made up of an area two or three classes. Area two was kind of like philosophy and learning how the world works, and area three is more social emotional learning.”

While there was a lot of focus on learning, there were also a lot of opportunities to meet new people, play games, and immerse yourself further into an area of interest. 

“In the afternoon, they would have optional lectures, movies, and activities you could go to if you wanted to learn more about a certain topic,” said Afanador. 

The students were split between two campuses: The West Campus spent their summer at Greensboro College and the East Campus at Meredith College in Raleigh. While students had some disagreements about the superior campus, both provided some great opportunities. 

“I was in Raleigh, and we went on a field trip to the North Carolina State Legislature with my Spanish class, which was really cool to see,” said Afanador. 

With new opportunities every day there is no doubt that it would be an exciting way to spend part of your summer. 

“I just liked being surprised,” said Leo McEvoy. “I didn’t know what was going to happen every day, or what you would learn, or who you would see, or what you would do. It was fun to have that for a month.”

Everyone who went had an unforgettable experience, and getting to share their summers with new people who all share the same excitement made it even better. 

“My favorite part was getting to be immersed in the topic that I really was passionate about,” said Afanador. “Also meeting people from all over the state because it was such a diverse campus, and I really felt like everyone there had a collective passion for learning, which was really cool to be a part of.”