The Center for Rural Development is accepting applications for the 2013 Class of Rogers Scholars through Jan. 31. Click here to download an online application form for Rogers Scholars.
Four graduates of The Center for Rural Development’s Rogers Scholars and Rogers Explorers youth leadership programs shared their experiences from this summer’s camps at a statewide education summit.
Rogers Scholars graduates Scotty Reams, a junior at South Laurel High School, and Taylor Agathen, a junior at Taylor County High School, joined high school freshmen students Emily Moore of Rowan County High School and Andy Buteyn of Somerset High School, both graduates of the Rogers Explorers program, to give a short presentation before educators, business, and community leaders at a summit on competency-based education.
“They were invited to speak because Rogers Explorers and Rogers Scholars offer students hands-on opportunities to learn beyond the classroom,” said Delaney Stephens, youth programs coordinator for The Center. “The programs not only provide students with the opportunity to gain in-depth knowledge about math and science careers, but encourage them to further explore these subjects in school.”
The summit, sponsored by the Kentucky Department of Education and the National Governors Association, was held Oct. 30 at Elkhorn Crossing School in Georgetown, Ky.
“The Rogers Scholars program changed my life in ways that I never would have imagined. It has taught me what it takes to be a true member of my Southeastern Kentucky community, while also teaching me morals and principles that enable me for a successful future.”
Rogers Scholars graduate Scotty Reams of London
Rogers Scholars—The Center’s flagship youth program— is an intensive, one-week summer youth program that provides leadership and scholarship opportunities for rising high school juniors in Southern and Eastern Kentucky.
As a participant in this summer’s Rogers Explorers program, Moore said she learned about different career options that most students would not have had the opportunity to explore until they went to college.
“Before this summer, I thought space was boring and had no meaning,” said Moore, who attended the Rogers Explorers session on the campus of Morehead State University. “This experience opened my eyes and made me really think about my future and what I want to do with my life.”
Rogers Explorers provides hands-on learning opportunities for the region’s rising ninth-grade students to explore their interests in science, technology, and math and start building careers in some of the top demanding career fields. The three-day, two-night summer leadership program is presented in partnership with the University of the Cumberlands, Lindsey Wilson College, Eastern Kentucky University, and Morehead State University.
The invitation to speak was extended to The Center and some of its most recent youth program graduates by Carolyn Hudman, director of Kentucky Out of School Alliance.
The summit focused on ways Kentucky can enhance education opportunities for students and how competency-based learning can be extended beyond the classroom. Competency-based education is a method that focuses on mastering specific skills or standards rather than completing course work over a specific period of time.
For more information about these and other youth program opportunities at The Center, contact youth programs coordinator Delaney Stephens at 606-677-6000 or email youth@centertech.com.
