Special to The Post-Searchlight

Decatur County has received notification that two students have been selected as finalists for the Georgia Governor’s Honors Program.

The Governor’s Honors Program, known as GHP, is a residential summer program for gifted and talented high school juniors and seniors. A function of the Georgia Department of Education, it takes place on the campus of Valdosta State University (VSU). The 2013 program will be the 50th summer, making it the longest continually running program of its kind in the nation.

The Bainbridge High School finalists for the 2013 Georgia Governor’s Honors Program are Jakob Thorn in social studies and Kay Bush in math.

Nearly 3,000 students from across the state were interviewed and auditioned over three weekends in January and February, and from those nominees 690 finalists were chosen to participate in the 2013 program. Since the program is fully funded by the Georgia General Assembly, there is no charge for students to attend.

Students will arrive on the campus of VSU on Sunday, June 23. For four weeks, students will spend the morning in their major area of nomination, exploring topics not usually found in the regular high school classroom. During the afternoons, students choose one of the other areas in which to study. The curriculum in all the areas is challenging and engaging. Evenings are filled with seminars, activities, concerts, and performances.

“GHP is such a competitive program that even being nominated is an accomplishment,” said Dale Lyles, director of GHP. “I congratulate the students of Decatur County and look forward to meeting them and their parents in June.”

Lyles added that many, if not most, of GHP’s past participants regard it as one of the most life-changing events in their lives.

More information about GHP can be found on the Department of Education website (gadoe.org) under the division of School Improvement.