Marion High School seniors Ruthie Elliott and Allie Phillips were selected to attend Arkansas Governor’s School. The four-week summer residential program, hosted by Arkansas Tech, recognizes rising seniors in the state who display special aptitude in one of nine fields: choral music, drama, English and language arts, instrumental music, mathematics, natural science, social science, visual arts, or cybersecurity.
“Students should demonstrate creativity in academic or creative fields, above-average ability in nominated discipline area, a high degree of self-motivation required to satisfy the program’s demanding requirements,” said the AGS website. “Students must possess the intellectual, social and emotional maturity required to thrive in an environment that emphasizes theoretical and process-related learning.”
Elliott’s area of emphasis is theater. Elliott, who earned 2019 choir all-region honors, has performed with DeltaArts for more than 10 years, including roles in "Shrek," "A Christmas Story," "Annie," "Peter Pan," and "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory."
Phillips, who was nominated for her excellence in natural science, is a member of the National Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society, and cheer.
“We could not be more proud of Ruthie and Allie’s selections to Arkansas Governor’s School,” said Marion High School Principal Paul Johnston. “It’s gratifying to see hard-working students like them earn the recognition they so desperately deserve.”
Students attend classes in their concentration area (Area I) twice a day Monday-Friday and take daily classes in general conceptual development (Area II) or personal and social development (Area III).
AGS speakers this summer include Governor Asa Hutchinson, Northeastern professor emeritus Jack S. Levin, and Mutale Nkonde, a founding member of Al For the People, a non-profit communications agency.
Governor’s School was established in 1963 in North Carolina. Arkansas became the fifth state to add the Governor’s School program in 1980. Twenty-three states currently offer Governor’s School. More than 400 students attended AGS in 2021.