Comments from June 20th:

The day is almost finished [7:36 PM] and everyone has worked hard to be prepared for tomorrow. We started by reviewing GHA policies, dress code, and a variety of other important topics. We then reviewed the schedule [in detail] and made sure everything was taken care of that needed to be. We watched a couple of motivational videos during lunch and then went to work with final preparations. Everything is quiet in the Welcome Center right now, but I promise starting EARLY tomorrow morning, it will be a buzz of activity and excitement. I think this will be one of the best GHA's ever at SUU.

-Jared Wilcken, GHA Co-Director

GHA is here!!!! The participants won’t be arriving for 2 more days, but the counselors and directors started Monday off running, getting all of the odds and ends wrapped up for when the big day comes! I am extremely excited and I know that all the counselors are. Each counselor has spent a lot of time preparing for GHA, and I can say that GHA 2006 is going to be a blast. We are all eager to meet the participants and to make GHA 2006 the best it can be!

- Haley Burton [GHA Counselor Facilitator]

Comments from June 21st:

My biggest expectation for GHA is that it will help the particpants to help define who they are and their responsibility to their community, school, friends and their fellow man. Utah's Attorney General; Mark Shurtleff spoke at the opening banquet during which he said that it is their (the GHA participants) responsibility to run and help those youth in their schools and communities. Help is a very broad term, but over the next ten days, I think it will become a specific term that each participant will be able to define to themselves and in turn give it to others. One poignant aspect is that they run to help rather than simply returning to help. Running shows dedication and enthusiasm for a cause. Each person involved with the Governor's Honors Academy will gain an increased desire to run and help.

Quinn Mortensen, GHA Director

Here are some of the comments from participants about today's activities:
"Mark Barton: Preparing for Responsibility in Caring"
"Awesome! So few think of this subject in Today's world of selfishness and greed."
"He was really amazing and really moved me in several ways. I really want to go and care for others and want to do good in the world. He was Awesome!"
Greg Powell: Career Considerations: Detecting Your Life's Mission
"This really got me thinking about my career and my future. He really knew what he was talking about and taught many great and important [things]."
"This was very important and appropriate for my or our age group. I fell like I gained some important insight into my career future. Very well done."
How was the food the first day?
"If I hadn't been so anxious, I would have enjoyed it more"
"The chicken was dry...but you know, it's hard to cook a good chicken."
"I thought the food was delicious. Although it was a little messy. However, I loved it."

Comments from June 22nd:

My favorite part would definately have to have been human foosball. We all had a blast. After we chowed down on Pizza Factory pizza. We laughed so hard. I had the funnest time getting to know all the cool people here." John Grimshaw

"I absolutely loved the presentation that Sam gave on helping others. Team Hoyt was so inspiring and really touched me. To see that a dad would do that for his son is so amazing and makes me want to do so much for others." Jordan Mitchell

"I loved our PD groups, where we played human foosball, learned how to be good team members and had an amazing experience learning how to help others be successful." Karisa Hofheins

"My favorite part of the day was the human foosball and the talk about psychology." Shanarra Johnson

"I loved ultimate steal the flag, it was way fun, and an awesome way to wake up. I loved Sam's presentation on real success." Grayson Moulton

"I would like to live at GHA forever." Heidi Eysser

Comments for June 23rd:

"My favorite experience of today was watching everyone start to come together. For instance, I saw a young gentleman notice as a girl silently sat by herself in the distance. He instantly stood up and joined her so she wouldn't be eating alone. I was so impressed to silently watch as a small group gathered, never leaving behind anyone. This is what GHA is all about!" Caytee Cox

"The hike was amazing and fun. The PD groups were so much fun because we got to know each other better. I love my PD group!! Today everyone started getting more comfortable around each other so that definitly made things so much better!" Megan Miller

"In my PD group we each had to build something out of starbursts and toothpicks without showing anyone else what we were building. It was interesting to see the different objects and to see everyone's creativity." Kesler Tanner

I thought the hike was way fun and I loved going to the lake!" Jazi Chamberlain

Comments from June 24th:

I thought Hamlet was azazing! I have never seen a real life theater play." Loni Mayer

"Hamlet was so awesome! Although the majority of us started dozing off a little, we were constantly awakened by the sword fights and intense monologues. I definitely loved the whole Shakespearean Festival atmostphere of it." Rebecca Harbuck

"I have never been a fan of Shakespeare of drama, but I really enjoyed Hamlet. The actors were awesome! I had a hard time understanding a lot of it though." Devin Hatch [counselor]

Comments from June 25th:

"I loved David Litchford, he was awesome & entertaining!" Dandice Ellett

"[I loved] the free time. I am the kind of person that needs a solid 10 hours to wake up fully rested. You only get 7 or 8 here on a good night. Sunday was a good chance for me to catch up and gear up for the second half of GHA." Kasey

GHA Counselor Facilitator Newsletter - June 25th

This newsletter was given to all the participants on June 25th.

Comments from June 26th:

Today started with a life experience activity. All of the directors and counselors were very nervous of how this activity would work. Our goal was to introduce each of the participants to how it felt to be discriminated against. So the day began with three groups of people. The first were the royalty - [either a prince or princess], the second group were people, the final group were peons [they didn't have names].

Each group was treated according to a set of rules. When anyone broke the rules, they were punished, they lost the use of their eyes, or hands, or were asked to do push-ups. The peons were treated as second class citizens. It only took a few moments to realize that everyone had grown close over the last five days. It was a difficult thing to treat people as we were asking them to do. Many people were very upset, but in the end, everyone learned what it feels like [even if only for a few short hours] to be treated differently from the main group.

Our hope is that each participant will remember this experience and reach out to those being discriminated against.
-GHA Directors

"When I looked at the schedule for today, I saw that we had life experience sessions. I had no idea what that was. I thought it was something that would be both fun and hopefully life changing. I was wrong about the first part. I was assigned the role early on as a peon, in the game PPR [Peons, People, Royalty]. I didn't think much would come of it at first, so I had a playful attitude about the whole thing. My views were changed within five minutes of squatting while the others stood or sat on the ground. I knew that within the first half hour that I was not going to be okay with this. I was mad as hell, and know that if looks could kill, quite a few people would be six feet under. I began to look on the system with contempt, I started to think that I was gonna get through this alone, without the help of any other peons, and I was going to hate the counselors all the while for what they were doing to me. I faced push-ups, with one arm at times, people telling me I was worthless, and that I was a peon, so I was nothing more than the dirt beneath their feet. Within minutes my right to talk was stripped. I stood, silent, hating the world, and all that this stupid game was doing. What hurt the most was that these people who had been building me up for the past five days, were now tearing me far lower than where I had come. It took the help of my fellow peons, but I began to have a better attitude, even as I lost the right to use my left arm, was forced to carry an umbrella for certain people, and was given a back seat for the ride in the van. I was told to do things, and if I didn't do them, other peons would be punished. We grouped together, with complete contempt for the royalty and counselors. It got to the point that when they offered one peon a chance to be royalty, he told them to buzz off, and go away. As we sat around the tables after having our lunch thrown on the ground, I listened to Quinn as he finished this morning of hell, and yet heaven, by saying he was sorry. I was asked how I felt about what had happened, and I lost it. The tears came and I wept in front of all my peers, counselors, and friends. I looked around and also saw the other counselors weeping. I then understood that they had about as much fun degrading and belittling us, as we had being peons. I hugged these people who had made my morning hell, and realized the lesson that we learned today. We are all, either royalty, people, or peons. We create these social barriers and situations in everyday life. I'm so grateful that I only had to be a peon for a day instead of a peon for my life. I hate what happened this morning, but I rejoice for what happened when I realized the lesson that you had to experience to really understand."
Grayson Moulton