Coomer Chosen For governor's Scholar Program

Paige Coomer, a senior to be at Adair County High School, has been selected for the prestigious Governor's Scholars program.
Coomer, the daughter of Steve and Lou Anne Coomer of Columbia, will be participating in the Governor's Scholars session at Morehead State University, which begins June 20 and runs for six weeks.
While at Morehead, Paige's focus area (major subject of study) will be Social Studies and Communications. As part of her activities, her group will be doing a project based on Tom Brokaw's book, "The Greatest Generation."After learning interview techniques, Paige and her fellow scholars will interview World War II veterans, and the interviews will be placed in the National Archives.
The Governor's Scholars Program is a summer residential program for outstanding high school students who are rising seniors. The program originated in 1983 as a result of Kentucky leaders' concern that the state's "best and brightest" were leaving the Commonwealth to pursue educational and career opportunities elsewhere without fully understanding the potential of their talents at home. Students selected for the program attend free of charge.
The program's mission is to enhance Kentucky's next generation of academic, civic and economic leaders. The first class numbered 230, and was housed on one college campus. Since then, the program has enjoyed excellent support and has grown to over 1,000 students on three campuses. (The 2009 sessions are also being held at Bellarmine University in Louisville and Centre College in Danville.) Last year, the 20,000th Scholar completed the program.
The core curriculum for the summer sessions is threefold. In addition to the Focus Area selected by the individual scholar, there are also: General Studies, an area of study assigned by staff to challenge the scholars, with the courses frequently including service-learning components in the community; and Seminar, a discussion-based small group session.
Faculty and staff also invite a variety of speakers and performers from a range of disciplines and pursuits to visit campus.
In order to participate in the program, students must be nominated by their high schools and then compete on a state-wide level. Selection for the program is highly competitive, with an application process similar to that of selective colleges and universities.