High school scholars to visit The W for Mississippi Governors School
The Mississippi Governor’s School (MGS) returns to Mississippi University for Women’s campus June 4-17.
Fifty-five scholars from 36 school districts in the state will participate in the tuition-free residential honors program that offers unique creative and academic experiences to students with exceptional abilities and achievements.
“True bonding along with academic and personal growth happens when scholars are actively engaged in face-to-face classes, activities and events,” said Melinda Lowe, director of The W’s Office of Innovation & Outreach. “The faculty and staff have developed a program where scholars will take rigorous interdisciplinary courses, test the limits of their leadership potential and create lifelong friendships with the best and the brightest students in Mississippi.”
The W administration and faculty and Governor William F. Winter established the MGS in 1981. Since its establishment, the MGS has provided approximately 3,500 students from across the state with a high-quality educational experience that has challenged them to grow as individuals.
“‘Creating a Culture of Belonging’ is the theme for this year’s event and every course selected for this session was written to support the theme,” Lowe said.
Courses for the session include “Radical Courage: Black Legislators in Mississippi’s Reconstruction Government,” “Where Are the People of Color? Stereotyping and Racism in American Television,” “Building a Community Through Music,” “Creating Culture with the Fairy Tale” and several others.
One feature that distinguishes the governor’s school model from traditional models of learning is the emphasis on the interaction between formal and informal learning, which often results in more autonomous and self-reflective learners.
Using humanities, the arts, science and mathematics and their interrelatedness as a forum, MGS courses examine the relationships between the application of knowledge and the social, economic, political, environmental, cultural and educational issues facing a changing world.
“Students attending the Mississippi Governor’s School share a common desire to explore academic and intellectual topics and to engage in creative pursuits at a level and pace not always possible during the regular school year,” said Lowe.
Saturday, June 10, will be the MGS Day of Service. Having the opportunity to participate in a meaningful service-learning project can result in a positive impact on the community that hosts MGS. The scholars, faculty and staff will partner with the Golden Triangle Regional Hub for Volunteers and Nonprofits to assist Fairview Elementary with several beautification projects, as well as host a children’s book drive.
The scholars also will interact with numerous guest speakers, along with artifacts, books, videos and special projects that will reinforce concepts and allow scholars to drive connections to themselves so they can be more comfortable with contributing to creating a culture of belonging when they return to their communities.
“Everyone deserves to feel as though they belong and are welcome at their school, job, organization, etc.,” Lowe said. “A culture of belonging means feeling a sense of acceptance, respect, inclusion and support in any type of environment.
“MGS offers some of our brightest students in the state a place where they can be challenged and exposed to new ideas, new friends and new experiences.”