Governor’s School holds convocation
The Governor’s School for Science & Mathematics (GSSM) Convocation Ceremony was held Sept. 12 at GSSM in Hartsville in the Gerald Malloy Activity Center. Joey Wilson, GSSM Class of 2013, delivered the convocation address.
GSSM’s Convocation is a ceremony held annually to welcome the newest class of students and present the seniors with academic letters.
Academic letters were awarded to 127 seniors, and a formal welcome was extended to the class of 2021, which is comprised of 144 juniors.
“Convocation signals the beginning of the school year,” said Ershela Sims, GSSM interim president.
“GSSM is a place where you will develop analytical habits of mind, a character of integrity and confidence, as well as the ability to engage respectfully with others.
“You are 271 talented students from across the state of South Carolina representing 36 out of the 46 counties.
You all have a success story to tell or you would not be here today. Each of your stories is different and through that diversity of experiences, you will learn so much from each other.”
After GSSM, Wilson attended Clemson University, majoring in Bioengineering, minoring in Global Politics, and graduating in 2017 Magna Cum Laude with both general and departmental honors.
At Clemson, he continued his SPRI research, resulting in paper publications and national recognition for a patent-pending breast cancer treatment device created by his team.
He brought the “It’s on Us Campaign,” a sexual-assault awareness and prevention movement, to campus, eventually serving on its National Student Advisory Board under Vice President Joe Biden.
Wilson also was elected Clemson’s student body president as a senior, using his office to “fight the good fight” for all students.
He was also named an Astronaut Scholar, a highly competitive national scholarship that is the most significant merit-based monetary award in STEM.
Scholars are said to embody astronauts, such as in their intelligence, ambition, tenacity, adaptability, and a passion for exploration and innovation. For graduate school, Wilson was named a finalist for the Marshall Scholarship and an alternate for the Gates-Cambridge Scholarship. However, he was awarded and accepted a spot as a Schwarzman Scholar.
This scholarship is internationally recognized as the “most significant program of its kind since the Rhodes Trust” and allows students the opportunity to pursue a one-year masters in Global Affairs at the best university in China, Tsinghua University. Last October, Wilson moved to the United Kingdom to attend Cambridge University as a Cambridge International Scholar.
There, as a member of St. John’s College, he has researched the paired use of senolytics with chemotherapies in lung cancer treatment in pursuit of both a Masters of Philosophy in Oncology and a cure.
”Govies, in summary, ask meaningful, why-based questions; view interactions as opportunities to learn, grow, and make a difference build relationships, not resumes; get help if you feel you need it, and remember that what is fulfilling and good is never easy. Go away, travel the world, and educate yourself in any way possible, but never forget where you came from,” said Wilson.
