Starr’s Mill is always nurturing the excellence and potential found within its students. This year, the Mill will be wishing good luck to 13 of its Panthers competing to be a part of the Governor’s Honors Program.

The program is an opportunity for upcoming juniors and seniors to be in a culturally, socially, and academically challenging environment. It will give the chance for student prowess to develop and be analyzed in a setting different than that of a high school. Teachers at Starr’s Mill from various departments have nominated their students and each of them are looking forward to the experience.

Junior Brock Spence has been nominated in the area of math by teacher JB Campbell. Spence’s involvement in math began freshmen year when another teacher persuaded him to join the school’s math team where he uses his knowledge to solve unique problems.

“Math is really interesting because of all the things are possible that shouldn’t be. For example, with calculus you can multiply and divide by infinite changes in variables, and with Set Theory it’s possible to compare the sizes of infinite sets,” Spence said.

Spence enjoys the challenge that the GHP process presents, which is having students dive deeper into their interest.

Junior Olivia Wernecke has been nominated in the area of theatre performance by drama teacher Savahna Silvas. Wernecke has been performing ever since she was three years old and hopes to grow from other students that have the same passion as she does at the program.

“Whenever I’m performing, I feel at home and constantly strive to make someone smile in the audience. I could not imagine life without theatre,” Wernecke said.

Wernecke also looks forward to working with people and mentors in a professional setting.

Junior Hannah Yokosawa has been nominated in the area of communicative arts by English teacher Lela Crowder. Yokosawa has been interested in this subject ever since she was a freshman.

“I think that the power of language and communication is so strong. For example, educating girls with the knowledge of literature and language leads to so many benefits including better birth control, a stronger workforce, lower infant mortality,” Yokosawa said. “It’s also so interesting because literature lets you see inside an author’s mind and what he or she was thinking when they wrote it.”

Like Wernecke, Yokosawa also looks forward to meeting new people who share the same interest as she does.

Junior Madison Lucas has been nominated in the area of science by teacher Nicholas Gillies. Lucas has always had a special place in her heart for animals and looks forward to being at a college campus to be able to learn about not only her subject but all subjects.

“Science is everything from engineering to medicine,” Lucas said. “You can solve almost every problem with it. I personally enjoy the animal science aspect of it. I want to be a veterinarian, so I find animal disease research and things like that very interesting.”

Along with Lucas, junior Aulden Jones was also nominated by Gillies for the subject of science. Jones hopes to grow more well-rounded in his area of study through the opportunities provided by GHP.

“I am inspired by the fact the natural world can be understood through the method of science,” Jones said.

Other students nominated by Gillies include juniors John Walraven and Sarah Goins, who are both nominated in the area of physics. Walraven, who originally saw the class as just another AP but now really enjoys it, looks forward to being in an environment full of people who want to learn at GHP.

“I like that physics is a cross between math and science,” Walraven said. “And I enjoy how all of that unites [the subjects] builds on each other.”

Goins hopes to gain a better understanding of her subject along with narrowing down her career paths.

“[Physics] applies to everything, so it helps me understand how things work and why things happen,” Goins said. “I like knowing the reasoning and science behind little everyday actions.”

Junior Jaeyoung Choi has been nominated by band director Scott King for playing the oboe. Choi has been playing ever since the seventh grade.

“The sound of the oboe and my passion for music keeps me going,” Choi said.

Choi hopes to gain a better understanding of music and his personal instrument through the GHP process.

Junior Olivia Herrmann has been nominated in the area of social studies by teacher Diane Ruane. Her interest first began to manifest in fifth grade when she had a great social studies teacher.

“I really like how there is so much to learn about and how even though a person is super important in history, they were just regular people and how anyone can be a part of that history,” Herrmann said.

Herrmann looks forward to getting a closer look at some of the interesting classes that are provided and also getting to know other GHP nominees from Georgia.

Junior Trey-Lee Orndorff has been nominated in the area of vocal performance by chorus teacher John Odom. Orndorff has been singing with his family, school, and church since the age of four and is currently with the Men of the Mill, the top men’s choir here at Starr’s Mill.

“I sing just because it’s really fun to me,” Orndorff said. “I’ve always done it to pass time or cure my boredom. Music and singing are the most beautiful parts of life, and it is so great to be able to be able to share something wonderful with the world.”

Orndorff looks forward to learning from the best and improving himself as a singer.

Junior Kyle Robinson has been nominated by Spanish teacher Madeline Rodriguez in the area of Spanish. He has taken three and a half years of the language.

“I think what inspires me about learning a language is the opportunities that I can get with knowing a second language,” Robinson said. “Being able to communicate with other people and understand their experiences would really help me in the future, especially with Spanish.”

Robinson looks forward to being able to work with people from numerous backgrounds and being exposed to their different points of view.

Junior Hengfei Yao has been nominated for mathematics by teacher JB Campbell. Yao first started to take interest in math in fourth grade, but the first math topic that truly caught his eye was Euclid geometry because of the laws and perfection involved.

“Math is different from any other subjects. Math cannot be described as a simple subject. Instead, it is prerequisite for every individual in the world,” Yao said. “It is something that indeed relates and dominates our daily lives. We cannot live a life without math. So I believe with more depth to my knowledge, I can really help the world be a better place because math is all around us.”

Through the opportunity of GHP Yao hopes to expand his understanding in more fields and advance his skills to have an even stronger love for math than he does already.

Junior Zachary Livsey has been nominated by teacher Diane Ruane in the area of social studies. Livsey first discovered his passion for social studies in eighth grade while learning about our state’s history. Freshman year Livsey did not have a history class, so he developed his passion through research on his own time.

“Social studies inspires me because it is the active analysis of the world around us,” Livsey said. “I am inspired by the fact that I can connect with events and people in history. The thing about social studies that I enjoy the most is the ease of interactivity.”

Livsey looks forward to GHP because it provides a great foundation for expertise that can be applied to social studies and applied to Livsey’s future.

The thirteen nominees from Starr’s Mill have interviewed at the state level for the program and are thus “semi-finalists.” In the coming months, the students will be notified of their admission status.

Getting this far is certainly a demonstration of dedication to their respective subjects.