Montgomery County High School was good to Rachel Harris for the last two years.

After completing her sophomore year in May, Harris earned A’s in all of her classes and has participated in activities such as choir and Scholar Bowl.

The efforts caught the attention of the Missouri Scholars Academy committee. Harris was one of 330 students from the state of Missouri who were selected to participate in the three-week gifted program at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

The academy began on June 9 and ended on June 29. During that time, students took interdisciplinary courses, found new interests through extracurricular activities and met plenty of friends.

“It was really amazing,” Harris said. “I was doubtful at first because I wanted to go to church camp, but I’m glad I went to MSA instead. There were a lot of really good educational experiences.”

While at the academy, Harris took philosophy classes as well as classes on how buildings in American cities such as St. Louis and Detroit get demolished with no plans on being replaced. She also sang with the Missouri Scholar Academy choir and heard a speech from American academic and animal behaviorist Temple Grandin.

Harris invited MCHS social studies teacher Ben Creech to come on Teacher Appreciation Day.

“He’s been a really impactful teacher to me,” Harris said. “I love his class. He’s really good at what he does. He makes it fun for everybody.”

There were some restrictions at the academy. Students have to leave their phones in their dorm rooms, wear their name tags at all times and stay on campus.

Harris, who lives in Mineola, was the lone Montgomery County resident at the academy. She said one of the best parts of staying at the academy is meeting students from different parts of the state. There were 43 students from the Kansas City area, 45 from St. Louis, 30 from St. Charles County and 29 from St. Louis County.

“There were people from everywhere with lots of different backgrounds,” Harris said. “We were able to get along really well.”

The program began in 1985 with a mission to provide gifted youth with special opportunities for learning and personal development and encourage them to realize their full potential. Students are selected based on a student’s grade point average, standardized test scores, two essays and two letters of recommendation and have to be upcoming juniors.

Harris wrote her two essays in January. She was told by counselor Casey Dillon-Chipman that she was selected to go to the academy.

“Honestly, I felt really excited and happy with the opportunity that I was able to go,” Harris said. “But then again, I didn’t really know what it was at that time. So I was like, ‘Oh, cool.’”

MCHS counselor Amy Davis said she was thrilled to have Harris as the school’s representative at the academy.

“Only 154 schools in Missouri get to send a student,” Davis said. “It’s a gifted program, so it’s very academically minded. So those students will get to hang out with students who are like minded. It’s a very unique experience and we are very fortunate that we get to select a student to go.”