Winooski-based organization—The Governor’s Institutes of Vermont— celebrates 40 years

image courtesy of Governor's Institutes of Vermont press release, original photo caption: "Students focus on their paintings as others hustle and bustle around them. Taken at the Governor's Institutes on the Arts Vermont in the 2000s."

In a press release earlier this week, The Governer’s Institutes of Vermont announced it will be celebrating its 40th year of operation when many of its programs, offering courses in the arts and STEM to high school students, commence this Sunday.  

The Institutes, also known as GIV, began as an initiative to supplement the “extraordinary deficit in arts education in public schools” and was born under the leadership of then-Governor Richard Snelling. That was 40 years ago, in 1983. Today, GIV has seen over 12,000 students from across the state in its time pairing 10th through 12th graders with two-week-long programs on a topic of their interest.

This year, GIV is offering eight sessions — or summer institutes — in disciplines such as Arts, Engineering, and Global Issues and Youth Action. The institutes are held on various college campuses across Vermont to give students a feel for futures in higher education or in their career paths of interest. The press release highlighted that the merit of the opportunities in career-oriented programming is matched in the value of the peers attendees have, with nearly every high school in the state represented at the sessions; “After the intense isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic, making new friends has become one of the most valuable parts of students’ experience.”

Now one of the oldest Governer’s schools in the country, the Winooski-based non-profit offers a sliding scale of financial aid, with 80% of its students receiving some form of financial assistance. The press release attributes this to its support from a combination of individual, foundation, and business donors. 

Earlier this year, the Winooski News spoke with Winooski high schoolers who had attended the 2022 session of GIV. You can read more about the institute experience here.