Governor’s School honors 33rd class of seniors at Convocation Ceremony
The South Carolina Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics (GSSM) Convocation Ceremony was held Sept. 9 at GSSM in Hartsville. Adaya Sturkey, GSSM’s Class of 2014, delivered the Convocation address. Sturkey is a 2014 graduate of South Carolina Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics. Prior to attending GSSM, she was a resident of Marion. While a student at GSSM, she established the Annual Empathy Walk and helped co-author the curriculum for the interim course, “Mental Health in Pop Culture: the Psychology of Adrian Monk,” with Alison Evans. After graduating from GSSM, Sturkey attended Hampton University, where she obtained a Bachelor of Science in Biology in 2018. During her tenure at Hampton University, she completed summer research under the supervision of Kristina Rother at the National Institutes of Health, resulting in a co-authored publication titled “Factitious Hypoglycemia in Children and Adolescents with Diabetes.” In 2016, she was selected as an English-Speaking Union Luard Morse Scholar. As a scholarship recipient, she was given the opportunity to spend a semester studying biochemistry at Oxford University’s St. Anne’s College, England. While a student a Hampton University, Sturkey co-founded Flourish Mentoring Program in her hometown of Marion with fellow GSSM alumna Laura Campbell. Flourish was established to provide resources, exposure, and relevant mentorship for middle and high school-aged minority women, who were both college and workplace bound. After a brief stint as a higher education professional, Sturkey is currently a medical student at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville. GSSM’s Convocation is a formal ceremony held annually to welcome the newest class of students and present the seniors with academic letters. Academic letters were awarded to 116 seniors, and a formal welcome was extended to the class of 2023, which comprises 157 juniors.
