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2017-2018 Avatar: Caleb Curry

August 22, 2017 | 2017-2018, Avatars, Caleb Curry | No Comments

Caleb Curry

Hello! My name is Caleb Curry, and I am a senior at The Gatton Academy. I am from Louisa, KY, which is a small, rural town in Eastern Kentucky. Before Gatton, I attended Lawrence County High School. There, I played varsity tennis and participated in extracurricular activities such as Student Y, 4-H, student government, academic team, and a few medical-related activities.

Over this past year at Gatton, I have been able to participate in many things that would not have been possible back home. In regards to research, I participated in the Genome Discovery and Exploration Program (GDEP), and I was able to discover, characterize, and annotate a cluster B bacteriophage, that I so cleverly named Squiggle. This two-part, yearlong research course provided me with the basic and useful skills that are required for other research. Building on this, over the summer, as part of a Research Internship Grant (RIG), I researched at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute. While there, I researched stem cell-derived podocytes with Dr. Oliver Wessely. These two research experiences have fit perfectly with my interests in Biology and Medicine.

In addition to research, I have also had the opportunity to study abroad. Last winter term I went to Costa Rica, where we volunteered at the Goldring-Gund sea turtle conservatory to conduct research on leatherback turtle nesting. We also visited Cloudbridge Nature Reserve to conduct research projects, Corcovado National Park for hiking, and Isla del Caño for snorkeling. I have also participated in the Harlaxton study abroad trip, which is in the UK. There, we read, studied, and analyzed classic English literature, and visited the birthplaces of the authors and the locations where the ideas of these works came to light. Both of these trips were magnificent and, as what I consider a bonus, worth college credit.

Also at Gatton, I have continued to be a part of Student Y, and I have participated in Future Healthcare Professionals, GALE, and as you now know, Avatars. I sincerely look forward to this second half of Gatton, and to all the new things that I will experience this year.

Caleb Curry

By: Caleb Curry

We are nearing the end of our time here at Harlaxton. Today we had our last class, which began with a quiz over various poetry terms. We were then handed back our second essays, and we briefly discussed them. Following this, we examined dramatic poetry, including Lord Tennyson’s “Ulysses,” Andrew Marvell’s “To His Coy Mistress,” and Robert Browning’s “My Last Duchess.” We then discussed T.S. Elliot’s “The Hollow Men” and his influence on the musical Cats, and we ended class with a review for tomorrow’s final.

Following class, everyone spread across the manor as they enjoyed games of croquet, traveled into Grantham, or packed for our trip back home. I, however, rehearsed for our musical adaptation of The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl, cleverly titled Sharkboy and Lavagirl The Musical. In this production, I star as the Tobor — a wise robot who comes to life on Planet Drool. We had an afternoon rehearsal, followed by an evening rehearsal attended by Professor Rutledge and his wife.

Although today has been full of many fun and exciting things, it has also been full of studying and hard work in preparation for the final. However, I’m sure it will all pay off tomorrow! Wish us luck!

Caleb Curry

By: Caleb Curry

One short day in the Emerald City, or rather one short week in London, has at last passed us by. We arrived at Harlaxton Manor yesterday (Sunday) evening. As we saw the Manor for the first time, gasps echoed through the bus. It was breathtaking. On arrival we settled in, ate dinner, went on a tour of the manor, and studied for the next day’s quiz. Before I begin today’s happenings, though, I must mention my last day in London, which, by far, has been my favorite day of this trip. That morning (Saturday) we had our typical class, followed by my groups immediate departure to the British Museum. This was then followed by lunch, Wicked the Musical, dinner, Les Misérables, and Buckingham Palace. The shows were absolutely amazing and have been stuck in my head ever since.

Today (Monday) has been a much-needed day for a lot of people. Sleep has been on a lot of peoples’ minds lately (you know, besides the fact that we are staying in what seems like a castle). We have all learned that a quick remedy to sleepless nights is sleeping 6 (or less) hours every night for over a week, and falling asleep reading classic literature. Exhaustion has swept over everyone over the duration of this trip, and today we finally had the chance to catch up on some much-needed rest.

This morning, we began our class with a quiz over the chronology of D.H. Lawrence and his short stories “Rocking-Horse Winner”, “The Odour of Chrysanthemums”, and “The Blind Man.” This was followed by a discussion of these works, as everyone chimed in their thoughts about certain aspects of these stories. We even got to witness the entire class, along with Professor Rutledge and Cheryl, embrace one another’s faces in order to mimic the ending of “The Blind Man.” After class, which ended at 12, we had free time. This is the time when people took extremely long naps, wrote and revised their second essay, explored Grantham, finished preparing their presentation, and caught up on all the needed things. Tomorrow, we will be going on a field trip to explore D.H. Lawrence’s birthplace and Brinsley Headstocks. Which means, no quiz and (hopefully) one long night of sleep.

Caleb Curry

By: Caleb Curry

Wow! Over the past 24 hours I have gone from a small town in eastern Kentucky, scrambling to finish last-minute packing, to riding on a charter bus headed to the Nutford House, where we will be staying at while in London.

We (around half of the Gatton Class of 2018) began this adventure by meeting at the Louisville airport yesterday (Friday) afternoon. We were scheduled to fly from Louisville to Dallas and have a 1.5-hour layover before our overnight flight to London, but of course we had over a 1.5-hour delay. Once our plane landed in Dallas, after our planned boarding time, our group of 56 quickly and successfully boarded the around 5,000 mile Dallas to London flight with no time to spare. This morning (Saturday) we landed in London around 11am local time (5am CST) and were greeted by chilly London weather and the aforementioned bus.

In addition to the typical things a tourist would see, over the next 3 weeks we will be studying English Literature, including works such as Persuasion, Wuthering Heights, Much Ado About Nothing, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and various short stories and poems. Following our classes, which occur every other day, we get to go physically see and experience the places where the ideas of these works came to light, the birthplaces of the authors, and other important aspects of these pieces of literature. For months leading up to this trip, we have all been excited to travel to England together and explore everything that it has to offer, and now it is finally here!