Alumni work to save Governor’s School

Faced with the elimination of a program that many students feel transformed their lives, about 20 UNC students met Wednesday night to brainstorm ideas to save North Carolina’s Governor’s School.

The students discussed ways to raise $25,000 on campus and begin the process of lobbying the state legislature to return funding to the school.

Funding for the program was cut out of the most recent state budget, and the N.C. Department of Education has said the Governor’s School Foundation needs to raise $550,000 to save at least one of the program’s two campuses.

But the foundation has set its sights beyond that number.

“Our goal is to maintain two campuses,” said Tom Bodo, a junior at UNC who is leading student efforts to save the program.

“Our goal is to not just raise $550,000 but to raise enough money to have two campuses and to encourage the North Carolina legislature to see the value of the program.”

He also hopes to see the legislature reinstate funding for the school in the budget next year.

Bodo said he wants to form an official student organization to organize students to lobby, raise funds and raise awareness for the six-week summer program for gifted rising high school seniors, which was free for students until 2010.

David Winslow, a 1970 graduate of the program, is spearheading the foundation’s fundraising efforts, and he wants to raise $1 million by January or February.

The foundation, which has already raised $235,000, is especially targeting larger donors.

Roice Fulton, president of the foundation, believes a strong fundraising effort at UNC could spark similar efforts at Duke University and N.C. State University, which also have large contingencies of Governor’s School alumni.

The Governor’s School Alumni Association is complementing fundraising efforts by keeping alumni informed.

“What we are attempting to do is to get in contact with as many alumni as possible and get them interested in helping the foundation in their fundraising drives,” said Jim Hart, president of the association.

Winslow said he expects these efforts to pay off.

“We have a lot of alumni who have done very well,” he said. “It’s their turn to give back.”

Many students who participated in Governor’s School said they are passionate about preserving it.

“It was the most transformative experience of my life so far,” said Shampa Panda, a junior at UNC.

Bodo also said the program was a life-changing experience.

“When I found out that the budget had been cut for it, I was distraught,” he said. “I knew that there was something I had to do.”

He is confident that UNC students will be successful.

“Is it challenging? Yes. Is it going to be hard? Yes,” he said.

“However, I do think its something that’s definitely attainable, because we have support mobilized, we have people that are passionate.”

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