WKU News

Five Gatton Academy students traveled to Starkville, Mississippi to compete in the National Conservation Foundation’s International Envirothon Competition in July. The Gatton Academy team finished 10^th out of 42 teams from the U.S., Canada, and China, the highest the team has placed in its five appearances at the international level. This opportunity comes after placing first at both regional and state competitions.

The team was coached by Penny Warwick, Education Coordinator and Program Technician with the Warren County Soil and Water Conservation District and President of the Kentucky Association of Conservation District Employees, alongside her husband, Bobby Warwick. The team included the following students:

Rowan Bailey, Co-Captain, Bourbon County High School (’26)

Helen Rose, Co-Captain, Henry Clay High School (’26)

Harsh Gupta, duPont Manual High School (’27)

Charlie Maddux, Hopkinsville High School (’26)

Sophia Mitchell, Mason County High School (’27)

The international competition is a six-day event in which teams complete training in Aquatics, Forestry, Soil and Land Use, Wildlife, and Environmental issues with local on-site professionals. Then teams complete tests in each area. They also prepare and deliver oral presentations explaining their solution to a real-world scenario which they have analyzed. Students had the opportunity to explore several remarkable sites during the event and interact with the other teams.

Preparing for and competing in the event teaches participants many skills, but also provides an avenue for students to share their passions. Sophia Mitchell said,

“Competing from the regional level to the national level was an extraordinary experience…. Envirothon, in general, has always been a place that lets me explore pressing environmental topics. The natural world has always occupied a very special space in my life, and I can’t conceive a world where it doesn’t. The skills I’ve developed and the values I’ve discovered through Envirothon are here to stay; I’ll continue to carry them with me throughout all of the rest of my life.” 

About The Gatton Academy: Established in 2007, The Gatton Academy is Kentucky’s first residential two-year program for gifted and talented juniors and seniors. The Gatton Academy’s students enroll as juniors and are full-time WKU students pursuing their interests in advanced science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The Gatton Academy is a recipient of the 2022 Inspiring Programs in STEM Award from Insight Into Diversity Magazine and the Innovation Partnership Award from the National Consortium for Secondary STEM Schools.