By:  Jenna Ellis

Fall break was on October 1^st and 2^nd, marking the first extended break from classes and living at Bates.  Juniors got the time to take a break from their new work schedules and spend extra time with family and friends at home for the first time since move in day. Fall break is a convenient time for seniors to put in some extra work on college applications (with creeping deadlines), catch up on work, and relax at least a little.

Others use fall break as an opportunity to travel, both for recreation and/or some school related endeavors. Many seniors go on college visit trips across states, with others travel in close proximity to home for secondary visits, interviews, and extra information sessions. Some may take small vacations to just get away for a while. Regardless of how it’s spent, most Academy students can agree that fall break is a nice mix of productivity and relaxation.

After returning from a four day weekend, the semester definitely starts to pick up for everyone. Second tests start rolling around, some college apps are due, and class work really starts to intensify. All the more reason to appreciate the break while it’s there.

By:  Jenna Ellis

As the fall semester progresses, Tracy, our wonderful college counselor, has started to bring in college representatives and admissions advisors in order for juniors to start thinking about schools that interest them and for seniors to ask any questions they may have for schools they are applying to. Columbia University, University of Southern California, University of Kentucky, Rose Hulman Institute of Technology, Stanford University, and Bellarmine University, in addition to a few other schools, will be visiting the Academy in the coming weeks to provide information to students.

These advisors talk about academic opportunities, usually centered on STEM subjects, extracurricular activities, and any steps an interested student should take now to learn more or really give them an advantage in the application process. The college application process is a major part of the academy seniors’ fall semester and these visits are always helpful in making the process just a little bit less stressful.

By:  Jenna Ellis

Day 1 of adventure week: the start of countless info meetings, first group lunch dates, and, my personal favorite, the introduction of faculty-led research. Today, Derick introduced the juniors to faculty-led research with a brief meeting, and then held the research fair with various WKU professors.

Professors gathered while the juniors had their session with Derick to set up their research information posters, computer demos, and other tactile tools to present their work. While research topics are increasingly specific for a given mentor, professors’ broad interests ranged from applied mathematics and physics all the way to geography and manufacturing engineering sciences. When it came time for juniors to make their way to each professor, I noticed a mixture of confused and excited looks coming from each student. While they likely had little to no experience with a lot of the very detailed work these great professors were discussing, many obviously found a small spark of interest. The adventure week research fair is a great way for students to get a head start on considering a research project, and it often has a large influence on the project a student will pursue at any given time during their Academy career.

Seeing the juniors showing their personalities and explicit STEM interests was very exciting, and honestly a great way to hype students up for their very first semester. I can’t wait to see all the great connections and relationships my juniors will make with their research mentors and all the amazing work they will accomplish!

Hi I’m Jenna! I’m from Gallatin County in Northern Kentucky, and I originally went to Gallatin Co. HS. When I first came to Gatton, my interests were in microbiology. I originally did research with the Genome Discovery and Exploration Program. After my first semester at The Gatton Academy, I became interested in Computer Science. During this past summer, I conducted research in Computer Science with a past professor, (and a fellow senior, Eura Shin) that dealt with the mathematic topic of Knot Theory and knot simplification programs. Beyond school, I enjoy working out, listening to music, watching How I Met Your Mother and Breaking Bad, hanging out with friends, and volunteering to help with activities at the Academy.

The Academy has presented me with so many great opportunities to expand my knowledge, make great friends, and put myself out in the world for the first time on my own. I couldn’t imagine being any other place!

During my senior year, I look forward to getting to know all of the incoming juniors, and helping them make their first semesters here as successful and enjoyable as possible. I’m also excited to share my great experiences at the Academy with prospective students and their parents from all around the state. Gatton is a truly one of a kind community perfectly suited for the gifted students of Kentucky, and I’m so excited to see what kind of fun my senior year will hold!