Press release from Asheville City Schools:
This summer, nearly 700 students from across the state will converge on college campuses for Governor’s School of North Carolina. Asheville High School’s Maeve Goldberg will join this elite group dedicated to exploring cutting-edge concepts in both the arts and academics.
“I’m excited to spend time just learning about things I’m interested in without having to worry about grades,” said Goldberg. “To be able to do school work just for the sake of learning, that’s a cool part of the program that I really like.”
In fact, the Junior will be dedicating five and a half weeks of the summer before her Senior Year to Social Science.
“I chose Social Science as a way to examine current events, especially sustainability, in new ways,” she explained.
Specifically, her program curriculum will examine the major political, sociological, psychological and anthropological concepts that have influenced the 20th and 21st Centuries from theoretical and applied perspectives.
No stranger to the topic, Goldberg represented North Carolina at the Global Youth Institute hosted by the World Food Prize Foundation this past October. After writing a research paper on global food security, she traveled to Des Moines, Iowa to present and discuss her findings with international experts.
In addition to her work with the Global Youth Institute, Goldberg is the Community Outreach Coordinator for Asheville High School’s Sustainability Club, which allows her to look “at different aspects of sustainability within our community and connect club members with service opportunities.” Additionally, she is part of the Asheville High School – SILSA Speech and Debate Team as well as the National English Honor Society and the Science National Honor Society. Goldberg is also a peer attorney through Buncombe County Teen Court.
In addition to learning in “the ideal classroom,” Goldberg is looking forward to living in a dorm and exploring college life at Governor’s School West – Salem College.
Having known students who attended last year’s Governor’s School, she explained that she’s “never spent that much time away from home before, but [is] excited to meet so many people from all over the state who are as passionate and interested in learning the same kind of things [she] is.”
Goldberg has been an Asheville City Schools student since elementary school, attending Ira B. Jones and Asheville Middle before enrolling at Asheville High School. Over the past three years, Goldberg has taken five Advanced Placement classes as well as three courses through A-B Tech.
“I’ve just had a lot of really great teachers,” she said. “Last year and this year, they’ve made me really excited about learning. For them, it’s not just about teaching to the test.”
One teacher, in particular, has inspired Goldberg’s Governor’s School Social Science selection and future career path.
“My AP Environmental Science Teacher, Ms. Duffer, she is really into climate change and sustainability and talks to us about opportunities to get involved and participate in organizations across our community. She’s shown me that what we’re doing in class translates to real life.”
Real life that Goldberg is already planning for, as she intends to combine her Social Science knowledge with her love of communication to “create agricultural policy for someone like the UN.”
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