The Kentucky Governor’s Scholars celebrated 1,020 high school seniors from 114 counties across the Commonwealth who recently completed the 44th Kentucky Governor’s Scholars Program at Centre College, Morehead State University and Murray State University.
“This program gives students a chance to learn about their studies and themselves while building a network of mentors, scholars and friends that can last a lifetime,” said Gov. Andy Beshear, a 1995 GSP graduate. “Congratulations to this year’s graduating class. Y’all are our future and I can’t wait to see what you do next.”
GSP is a five-week residential summer program with staggered starting dates at three Kentucky college campuses. The 2026 program at Morehead State University ran from June 13-July 17, Centre College ran from June 14-July 18, and Murray State University was June 21-July 25. Since 1983, the residential summer program has focused on enhancing Kentucky’s next generation of civic and economic leaders through educational and career opportunities at college campuses across the state.
Including the Class of 2026, more than 39,000 students have completed the program, which is administratively attached to the Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet.
The 2026 Governor’s Scholars took classes in 25 subject areas including forensic science; healthcare industry; physical science; theatre arts; engineering; and agribusiness and biotechnology. They also attended general studies classes to balance the scientific and humanistic fields of study, as well as a leadership seminar on themes related to their age group as they continue their path to personal and professional success.
“At the start of this summer, I implored our scholars to ‘Be Brave, Be Kind, and Be Here’ during their time at GSP,” said Jennifer Price, Ph.D., GSP executive director and academic dean. “As always, they rose to the challenge. I was inspired by their curiosity, their kindness and their perseverance as they pushed themselves to try new things, meet new people and immerse themselves in the GSP community.”
To participate in the highly competitive program, a statewide selection committee chose well-rounded participants based on nominations submitted by each Kentucky school district and home school.
Selection criteria are based on academic records and test scores; teacher and community recommendations; extracurricular and service activities; honors and awards; and a writing entry. There is no cost to students selected to participate in the program.
GSP is not a scholarship program, but many scholarship opportunities are offered by Kentucky colleges and universities to students who have completed the program.
When GSP began in 1983, Kentucky leaders wanted to encourage high-achieving Kentucky seniors to attend a Kentucky college or university to reduce the “brain drain,” as a growing number of students were choosing to go out of state to attend college. According to the most recent data, nearly 75% of 2023 scholars chose to pursue higher education in Kentucky in the fall of 2024.
A new class, computer science and information technology, was added this year.
“Computer science is a class that has reinvigorated my love for coding,” said Vishwaa Kannan, a 2026 Governor’s Scholar from duPont Manual High School. “Throughout this class, I was challenged with complex multi-step problems and provided a collaborative environment to tackle these problems.”
“Coming into the Governor’s Scholars Program, I expected to be challenged academically,” Aspen Delaney, a 2026 Governor’s Scholar from John Hardin High School. “What I didn’t expect was to find a community that completely transformed how I view myself as a leader and a student.”
“The Governor’s Scholars Program was one of the best experiences of my life,” said Nolan Crider, a 2026 Governor’s Scholar from Saint Xavier High School. “The opportunity to live on my own like a college student with such a strong community of people has allowed me to grow as a person both academically and socially.”
To learn more about the Governor’s Scholars Program, visit gsp.ky.gov.
Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet