Contact:  Melissa Potter
July 7, 2006

Governor's School Holds Closing Ceremonies at MECC

As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end.  On June 30, Governor's School at Mountain Empire Community College came to an end for the nearly 75 high school students who participated in the three-week program held during summer break.  Participants gathered with family, friends, and Governor's School and MECC staff members for closing ceremonies, comprised of student presentations and a dessert reception.  The afternoon event was held in the Goodloe Center on campus.

Governor's School was open to rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors in the area by letter of invitation.  Participants garnered eight college credits while studying a particular subject or strand.  At the closing ceremonies, each strand was represented including Drama Theory and Performance; Web Page Design, Flash, and Fireworks; Concepts and Applications of Geographical Informational Systems (GIS); Creating a Small Business and Advertising; and Forensic Science (CSI).

For presentations, drama students performed a play entitled Competition Piece, while the web page strand showed website designs they created during their time at Governor's School.  Small business and advertising students prepared business plans and display boards for companies they were asked to invent and develop.  Participants in the forensic science strand presented a slideshow with photographs of the activities in which they took part for three weeks.  GIS students premiered a short film they shot, which described the many different ways in which GIS is used.

Students in all of the strands had the opportunity to travel on a number of different field trips over the course of Governor's School.  Destinations included Barter Theatre, Bristol Motor Speedway, Mountain Rose Vineyards, Radford University, Tuck Engineering, Virginia Tech, WCYB, and the Wise County Courthouse.

Closing ceremonies for Governor's School marked the conclusion of six months of work and dedication from staff members, who began preparing for the program last January.  "I learned several things I want to implement next year," says first-time Regional Governor's School Director Karen Carter.  "I just want to thank the parents for allowing their children to take part in Governor's School, and I want to thank the students for working to expand their horizons this summer.  We hope to offer exciting new strands next year, also."

The 2006 Governor's School drama strand students with instructor Joel Bailey and teaching assistants Sara Gilliam and Craig Rice
(Listed alphabetically) Savannah Arwood, Laura Baty, Derek Bryant, Kayla Carter, Janna Church, Holly Crabtree, Kara Dalton, Hannah Hampton, Whitney Harris, Izak Hunt, Mark Jones, Sarah Jones, Patrick Mahaney, Ashley Marcum, Lauren Martin, Nikkii Osborne, Jessica Quillen, Wesley Rasnic, Collin Skeen, Chelsey Slemp, Samantha Stanley, Logan Sullivan, Chelsea Theriault, and Hannah Wilson
 

The 2006 Governor's School web page strand students with instructor Teri Lane and teaching assistant Rhonda Kelly
(Listed alphabetically) Michael Austin, Assad Chowhan, Nayab Chowhan, Joshua Collins, James Dalton, Steven Hubbard, William Ison, Zachary Lovell, and Amanda Murphy
 

Picture Caption:  The 2006 Governor's School small business strand (Instructor was Jane Jones and teaching assistant was Marit Domjahn)
(Listed alphabetically) Brent Baker, Caitlin Callahan, Cara Copeland, Courtney Dockery, Brianna Gorsky, Meagan Head, Alexander Long, Samantha Mumpower, Morgan Olinger, Kayla Pennington, Kaleb Roberts, Rachel Spivey, Kayla Sweeney, and Tiffany Turner
 

Picture Caption:  The 2006 Governor's School forensic science strand with instructor Tony Russo and teaching assistant Tina Cupp
(Listed alphabetically) Madison Baird, Destinee Blevins, Christina Branham, Gabrielle Brooks, Jessie Carter, Amanda Dingus, Tyler Kiser, Jordan Laningham, Kala McMurray, Kailey Morgan, Nicholas Mullins, Caitlin Robinson, Christopher Tomlinson, Tiffany Whitt, and Julia Witt
 

Picture Caption:  The 2006 Governor's School GIS strand with Instructor Jake Gilly (The other instructor was Melanie Salyer and the teaching assistant was Starla Kiser)
(Listed alphabetically) Jonathan Bellamy, William Collins, Cameron Curtis, Erica Greear, Brandon Hale, Alexander Head, Benjamin Hooper, Christopher Maness, Anna Skinner, and Kayla Swiney

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