Governor's School East Returns to Meredith
By Melyssa Allen

Meredith College is hosting Governor's School East for the sixth year. Approximately 400 students arrived on June 12 for a six-week, tuition-free educational experience.

North Carolina's Governor's School was founded in 1963 and is now the largest Governor's School in the U.S. It is also the first program of its kind in the nation. North Carolina offers Governor's School East at Meredith and Governor's School West at Salem College in Winston-Salem.

Meredith Vice President for Academic Affairs Rosalind Reichard says that the N.C. Governor's School and Meredith College "have a lot in common" as institutions that aim to offer "education at its best."

Nikki Pilson, a rising senior at Meredith who attended N.C. Governor's School, says her experience at Governor's School was inspiring.

"It was amazing to see how much we expected of ourselves after such a short amount of time," Pilson says.

A number of Meredith faculty members attended Governor's School during their high school careers. Tim Hendrix, assistant professor of mathematics, Carol Finley, assistant professor of dance, and Frank Pittman, instructor of piano, spoke at a Governor's School luncheon for Meredith faculty and staff. All agree that attending Governor's School was a transformative experience.

Governor's School "was a life-changing experience for me," Finley said. "It changed my path…I would not have taken as many risks if I hadn't attended Governor's School."

Students Create Visions for Change in Community at LeaderShape
By Betsy Rhame, '01

Since she began high school, rising sophomore Edith Toral has noticed that Latino high school students and their families often don't get information about colleges and the availability of financial aid as easily as other students.

"My parents had no idea about college and that financial aid existed. Because of our culture, parents are very worried about their children and don't want them to leave home, or spend money they do not have," Toral explained. "Luckily my parents overcame that fear when they learned about financial aid and how valuable a college education is for everyone."

In May, Toral was able to turn this issue into her vision project at Meredith's annual LeaderShape® Institute retreat at Fort Caswell. LeaderShape is a leadership development retreat that teaches college students how to lead with integrity. This year 39 students (23 of them freshmen) spent six days learning about ethics, communication, trust, decision-making and problem-solving. By the end of the retreat each student had formulated her own LeaderShape project, a vision and plan of action to implement change in her community.

For her vision project, Toral will promote knowledge and awareness about college to the Hispanic community and help them find a way to pay for higher education.

"I have thought about gathering a few Latino students…and taking them to high schools to speak with students about their personal experiences and to motivate them," Toral said. "I have also thought of bringing in a speaker to speak with the parents because they need as much convincing too. There is still the issue of financial aid so I have thought of finding sponsors to donate money for scholarships, such as Latino restaurants and stores."

According to Kelly Scott, the assistant director in Meredith's Office of Student Activities and Leadership Development, the students' vision statements vary. This year students' visions involved senior citizens, children with autism, the mentally disabled, and women recently released from prison.

"There's a wide range of what students are passionate about," Scott said.

Scott attended LeaderShape with the students and three Meredith staff members who served as cluster facilitators, or small group leaders who helped guide the students throughout the retreat.

LeNelle Patrick, associate director of the 23+ Undergraduate Degree Program, worked with her group of 13 students as one of the cluster facilitators. She listened and encouraged her students, and helped them fine-tune their vision statements. Patrick said she got to know her cluster group well.

"It's a transforming time," Patrick said. "There's no way [students] can leave without being changed."

The Meredith community will be able to preview the students' vision projects in September at a vision showcase.
For more information, visit www.leadershape.org.

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