By: Mary Croghan, Abdullah Choudhury, Kelly Fish, Meghan Chen, and Ester Wisdom

Move in day at Virginia Tech was rather eventful; in the madness of meeting new people and trying to settle in, the Southern Virginia sky opened on us little Gov School Goers and began to pour. Luckily, the ever changing Hokie weather only added interest to our day. The experiences the five members of Group 16 have had are as diverse and exciting as the dynamic sky floating above us.

One of the best activities Mary Croghan participated in was the Cascade Hike that occurred the first week of Governor’s School. The hike bonded Mary and her peers, and gave her a chance to see a breathtaking natural wonder of Virginia! Abdullah Choudhury is the only boy in Group16, but his computer skills and sense of humor lets him hold his own in the group! Like Mary, he was amazed by the beauty of the Cascades, and he thought the hike was a fantastic way to spend a Saturday with friends.

Kelly Fish had a similarly amazing experience with belly dancing! She never danced in a class before, but learning to belly dance gave her the opportunity to hang out with people who love to try new things also! Meghan Chen is a member of the Agricultural Engineering major, and the group planted trees as one of their first activities together! Unfortunately, she pulled her back sowing the saplings. Luckily, she pulled through, and has learned a lot about humanity’s responsibility to ensure water quality!

Ester Wisdom is a member of the Veterinary Medicine elective! The elective’s first day of class greeted them with a quirky room and a brilliant teacher, Doctor Yi. Doctor Yi explained to the students about all sorts of animal toxins, ranging from rat poisons to detergents! Finally, the kids got to enjoy grapes, chocolate, and macadamia nuts, which are all coincidentally toxic to animals.

The Virginia Governor’s School for Agriculture is a once in a lifetime experience. While other teenagers sleep half the day away and pig out on junk food, we have had the opportunity to see and learn in a way that is usually only available with a college tuition. There is hard work involved in our summer at the home of the Hokies, but here in Group 16, we would not change our few weeks of Governor’s School for the world.