Hutchinson encourages students to follow their principles

RUSSELLVILLE — Gov. Asa Hutchinson stood before the almost 400 participants in the 40th Arkansas Governor’s School on July 30 and advised them to establish and follow a moral compass based upon their personal beliefs.

“Let me encourage you, as you go through life, to be guided by your principles,” Hutchinson said while speaking at Arkansas Tech University’s John E. Tucker Coliseum. “I know that as teenagers and growing into adulthood, you are going to be evaluating everything, and that’s fine. Establish your principles, know where you are coming from, know what you believe in, and then hold on to those principles throughout your life. It helps me to be fundamentally guided by some principles. Whether it is responsibility, working hard, the concept of freedom or your world view … know what your principles are.”

Hutchinson was the final impact speaker of the 40th Arkansas Governor’s School, which started July 7 and continued through Aug. 3.

Students attended daily classes in one of nine academic disciplines — visual arts, choral music, instrumental music, drama, English/language arts, mathematics, natural science, social science or cybersecurity — and visited Arkansas cultural destinations such as the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville and the William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum in Little Rock.

AGS participants also viewed a performance by the Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre and watched impact movies designed to spark conversations about the role technology is playing in the evolution of society.

Founded in 1979 by then Gov. Bill Clinton, the Arkansas Governor’s School serves selected students from around the state during the summer before their senior year in high school.

The Arkansas Department of Education Gifted and Talented Programs administrator supervises the Arkansas Governor’s School with assistance from an advisory council appointed by the governor.

The Arkansas Board of Education selected Arkansas Tech to serve as host for the Arkansas Governor’s School from 2019 through 2021. Robin Lasey and Jeff Woods from the ATU faculty are AGS co-directors.

Learn more about the Arkansas Governor’s School at www.atu.edu/ags.