LWC Hosts Rogers Explorers

COLUMBIA, Ky. -- A total of 29 rising high school freshmen got to experience college life this week at Lindsey Wilson College. For the second year in a row, students in the Rogers Explorers program spent three days on LWC's A.P. White Campus where they learned about math, science, leadership, community service and entrepreneurship.

The program -- which is open to rising high school freshmen in Southern and Eastern Kentucky counties -- was created four years ago by the Center for Rural Development in Somerset.

Center for Rural Development CEO Lonnie Lawson said that the Rogers Explorers program is geared not only at teaching students, but also helping them overcome anxieties.

"We expose kids to a college environment to get them over that fear of college," Lawson said. "And believe it or not, we also want to get parents over the fear of college; a lot of these kids are first-generation college students who just need to be able to see what a benefit college can be and that with understanding it's a wise investment for their lives."

Because of the region's need to create more math- and science-related jobs, a lot of the Rogers Explorers' attention is focused on the importance of learning math and science.

"We want to get them engaged in math and science and show them that both can be very fun," Lawson said. "Math and science aren't just classes that you dread taking -- they should be informative and engaging to the student."

Center for Rural Development Associate Director of Education and Training Jessica Melton said it is important to get younger students involved in the college experience.

"The Rogers Explorers Program strives to foster thoughts of secondary education at a time when students can actually prepare for college while still in high school," Melton said. "This week the students have been able to interact with faculty and staff and be involved in actual classes in the fields of communication, science and energy."

LWC Energy and Technology Career Academy Director Heather Spoon said she was very impressed with the Rogers Explorers she taught.

"I was extremely impressed with the intelligence level of these kids," Spoon said. "Hopefully, they walked away from my class with a new-found knowledge of how electricity is generated."

Students who become Rogers Explorers are selected at random from an elite group of eighth-grade students based on grade point average, community involvement and a written essay.

"We look at their grades, make them submit a written essay and also past community service," Melton said. "We want to make sure we are accepting students who have an active concern for their community already."

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Click here to see scenes from the Rogers Explorers at LWC's A.P. White Campus.