91ÁÔÆæ

The University of North Georgia (91ÁÔÆæ) Summer Honors Program Director Kelly West found herself at the helm of the 2024 event with program veterans Dr. Catrina May and Anna Cronan, '24, in key leadership roles. The trio was together for the first time since 2019, when Cronan was a participant in the program and earned the top award for the program, which is accompanied by a $2,500 scholarship to 91ÁÔÆæ.

The Summer Honors Program has been around for 40 years, with West teaching for most of the years since she joined 91ÁÔÆæ faculty in 2003. She held the assistant director role in 2017 and 2018, assuming the role of director the following year. West is also director of Appalachian Studies Center and principal lecturer of biology at 91ÁÔÆæ.

May, a 2016 graduate of 91ÁÔÆæ and assistant professor of mathematics, has held three different roles for Summer Honors, including counselor (2014-17), lead counselor (2018 and 2019), and now assistant director.

Cronan joined the leadership team as a counselor this summer after deciding to attend 91ÁÔÆæ during her senior year of high school, citing Summer Honors as a key factor in that decision. She earned a degree in biology with a minor in chemistry, and because of the connections made during Summer Honors, she was able to begin research experiences early in her career and spend most summers involved in projects funded through scholarships.

"When I was initially a counselor, I was just doing a lot of work with campers to develop them as leaders and to help them identify strengths and weaknesses. I also grew a lot in that role," May said. "I tell people a lot that I am a different person because of Summer Honors."

In addition to leadership, Summer Honors exposes students to the academic and research portions of college.

Growth and leadership skills increase in all roles, May said.

"We continue to see that with our counselors now. We watched them grow the two weeks of camp just as much as the campers do, if not more," May said. “This year it was even a larger change than I had anticipated."

In her new position, May said she's more focused on the counselors in a big way.

"I am still focused on the campers, but I definitely focused a lot on making sure our staff was growing," May said. "I wanted to give our staff space for them to be the ones that were primarily mentoring the campers because they're closer in age to the campers and they built strong bonds."

Cronan fondly remembers her experience as a camper and sees a significant difference in focus as a counselor.

"As a counselor this year, it was a whole lot more responsibility. Our job is to keep campers safe and provide them with an environment that they can grow in. It was a big growth moment,” she said. "I'm not naturally assertive, but Pine Valley is a place where you have to be. Safety has to be a concern, and so I had to learn t