Rising Stars

Governor’s School for Excellence celebrates 40th anniversary

By Adam S. Kamras

Half of alumni enroll at UD

Forty years after participating in the inaugural Delaware Governor’s School for Excellence, Delaware Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long addressed the Class of 2019 and their families as well as fellow alumni who returned to the University of Delaware to celebrate the first four decades of the program.

Speaking to the latest graduates of the one-week UD residential program that brings together academically and artistically talented high school students from throughout the state, Hall-Long encouraged the students keep in touch with each other. With approximately half of all Governor’s School participants later enrolling at the University of Delaware, maintaining the relationships can be quite easy to accomplish for many of them.

Lifelong friendships formed

Governor’s School Class of 2007 alumna Martha-Raye Adjei still corresponds with many of the students and enjoys following their achievements on social media. Adjei, who received a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies from UD in 2013, is a quality assurance specialist with SEMrush.

“I came to Governor’s School for academics and also made lifelong friends,” said Adjei. “It really taught me how to be an independent thinker. The sessions were very thought-provoking and kind of shaped my whole educational and professional experience.”

Program sparks career

Andrew Paulus gives a lot of credit to his 2005 Governor’s School involvement for introducing him to engineering, a field he has been working in since earning his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from UD in 2011.

“We took a field trip to the engineering department, did a few hands-on activities, and I said, ‘This is really cool,’’’ said Paulus. “I enjoyed applying the lessons to various situations, and it kind of sparked me into learning more about engineering and ultimately declaring it as my major.”

Alumna earns UD doctorate and job

When Teresa Rush was selected for Governor’s School in 2002, she admits knowing very little about the University of Delaware at the time. Since then, she has returned to UD for two degrees and to serve as an employee.

“I believe that Governor’s School motivated me to try new things and to take a chance on myself and pursue opportunities that were outside of my comfort zone,” said Rush. “It absolutely played a role in my decision to attend the University of Delaware. I would not have known that the University of Delaware offered so many wonderful, nationally ranked programs.”

After receiving a bachelor’s degree in elementary teacher education in 2008, Rush became a teacher. She was recently awarded a doctorate in educational leadership at UD and has taken on the position of program coordinator for the University’s elementary teacher education associate in arts degree.

Sponsored by the Office of the Governor of the State of Delaware in cooperation with the Delaware Department of Education and the University of Delaware’s Division of Professional and Continuing Studies (UD PCS), Governor’s School for Excellence has welcomed more than 4,000 students over the last 40 years.