ECHS Announces Student Participants in Governor's Scholar Program, WKU's Gatton Academy

Left photo: Sarah Vincent, Jonathan Williams, Maggie Cassady, Lilly Parsley. Right: Brayden Johnson.

Edmonson Voice Report:
Edmonson County High School has announced three students recently selected to the 2024 Kentucky Governor’s Scholars Program, along with one student that will attend WKU's Gatton Academy.

This year’s scholars are Maggie Cassady, daughter of Marty and Stephanie Cassady of the Chalybeate community, Lilly Parsley, daughter of Travis and Jessica Parsley of the Brownsville community, and Sarah Vincent, daughter of Greg and Carolyn Vincent of the Cedar Spring community.

ECHS also had four students selected as possible alternates to the program.  These students include Addison Browning, Lillian McGill, Emma-Claire Skaggs, and Konner Hardin.  These seven students were a part of the 1,813 outstanding juniors from across the Commonwealth to apply to the 2024 Governor’s Scholars Program.  The students completed a very rigorous application based on academic, volunteer, and extracurricular experience, along with the completion of an essay, and teacher/community member recommendations.  A local committee formed of school staff and community members selected these seven students to have their applications forwarded to the state to represent Edmonson County High School. 

Cassady, Parsley, and Vincent will attend a five-week program this summer at one of three colleges in the state of Kentucky that host the GSP program.  The Program’s mission is to enhance Kentucky’s next generation of civic and economic leaders.  Students that attend and complete GSP will have the opportunity to receive GSP based scholarships at several colleges and universities throughout the Commonwealth.  ECHS is very proud of all of these students as they represented one of the best overall performances in recent years of applicants submitted by ECHS to the program.

In addition, ECHS sophomore Brayden Johnson, son of Brad and Jodi Johnson of Bee Spring, has been named to the Gatton Academy Class of 2026.

Gatton applicants were evaluated based on ACT/SAT scores, high school grades, awards and accomplishments, extracurricular activities, responses to essay and short answer questions, and recommendation forms. In addition to these criteria, candidates were invited to interview with WKU faculty members, community leaders from across the Commonwealth, and Gatton Academy alumni.

Gatton students will complete their junior and senior years of high school living in Florence Schneider Hall.  At the end of their two-year course of study, students will graduate from high school with a minimum of 60 college credit hours and an Associate Degree of Interdisciplinary Studies from Western Kentucky University.

Students from 40 counties make up the Class of 2026.  Among the students accepted include either the fourth or fifth students accepted in The Gatton Academy’s 16-year history from the following counties: Garrard, Metcalfe, and Bourbon. Overall, The Gatton Academy has had students attend from 117 of Kentucky’s 120 counties.

Brayden's older brother, Brody, was a member of the Gatton Academy class of 2023.