By EMILY SPARACINO / Staff Writer

CHELSEA – Two Chelsea High School students were immersed in the college life as they attended the Alabama Governor’s School at Samford University last month.

Elizabeth Hurley, 17, and Christian Fauer, 17, were among more than 80 rising high school seniors in Alabama who took part in academic classes, community service projects and recreational activities during the annual two-week summer residential honors program June 14-26 on Samford’s campus.

Hurley, Fauer and fellow AGS participants each took one morning and one afternoon seminar in different disciplines based on their academic interests.

According to the AGS website, the seminars were taught by leading academic, business and community experts in their fields. The program encompasses classes, seminars, workshops, self-directed studies and projects in subject areas such as natural sciences, humanities, social sciences and fine and performing arts.

“We got to pick which classes we wanted,” Hurley said. “A lot of the instructors seem to enjoy doing it.”

Hurley said she chose legal class for the morning session and global citizenship for the afternoon session.

Fauer took physics in the morning and astronomy in the afternoon.

“Basically, it was a two-week college experience,” Hurley said. “We got to sit in on federal court proceedings. We really got to see, real-world, what’s happening.”

Fauer said AGS helped him feel more comfortable with going to college and introduced him to “a view of what other towns can be like.”

“I’ve lived in Chelsea my whole life,” Fauer said. “People are different in other places, really. After Governor’s School, I’m excited for college.”

Hurley said the participants had a service project in Woodlawn, along with outings to a bowling alley and a Birmingham Barons baseball game.

Hurley and Fauer applied and were approved for this year’s AGS program through their school.

Both students said they would encourage other rising seniors to apply for the program.

“I think if more people knew about it, they would be fighting over it,” Fauer said.