Rebecca Hudson
by Rebecca Rodenborg
A day in the life of an 11-year-old during the summer can be quite simple for most.
Roll out of bed in time to catch your favorite morning shows on Nickelodeon or the Disney Channel and eat breakfast, play a few video games, ride your bike, play with your pets, go to the pool or have a few friends over.
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Rebecca Hudson, however, is not an average 11-year-old.
Four days a week this summer, she will get up in the morning and hurry out of the house to make it to class by 7:30 a.m. She’ll sit in a lecture hall at Casper College with students ranging in age from their 20s to 40s for an hour and a half.
She won’t be there waiting for a sibling or parent as they attend the class. She’ll be there as a student of the Introduction to Physical Science course, taking notes on her laptop and participating like any other student.
“I got all As this past year, and I just really love science,” Rebecca explained. “My parents decided that it would be a good reward.”
“Jeanne Spawn (president of the Wyoming Association for Gifted Children) and a few teachers suggested it,” her mother, Debra, added. “We were trying to find things for her to do during the summer because she enjoys learning just to learn.”
After being transferred from the gifted and talented program in elementary school over to Dean Morgan Junior High, where Rebecca continued to take a few higher level courses, she still was receiving 100 percent on her assignments in the classes.
Her parents and the teachers knew she wasn’t being challenged enough, so the idea of enrolling her in a few college courses over the summer was brought up. With the help of Vice President of Student Service Joanna Anderson, the process was underway.
After taking the assessment test that is required of all students hoping for admission to the college, it was determined that Rebecca was ready to take a college level course.
Her parents weren’t too surprised to hear the news. Ever since Rebecca started to teach herself how to read at the young age of 3, they knew she was bright.
When it was time to start kindergarten, the teacher quickly decided that she was advanced enough to skip and move on to first grade.
Debra admitted that at this point, they were a little worried, simply because “she didn’t know the social thing, how to stand in a line or raise her hand, those things they teach you in kindergarten.”
Now, in the college classroom setting, Rebecca feels comfortable. Her professor, Jared Bowden, treats her like an ordinary student, as do the other students.
“It makes me feel better because I don’t feel excluded from the class,” Rebecca explained.
She also said that it has been nice to be able to sit during the lectures without interruption. There are no students talking or secretly using their cell phones.
When Rebecca talks about her interests, she turns back into the average 11-year-old girl. She loves animals and enjoys playing with the dogs and horse that her family owns.
She enjoys reading on a daily basis. Her mother described how Rebecca and her 14-year-old sister both have gotten into the summer reading program offered at the Natrona County Public Library.
She also participates in Ka-Larks gymnastics. She’s on a competitive team that works out six hours a week.
“We try to do both mental and physical training,” Debra added. “You really do need it all.”
Rebecca also is involved in extracurricular activities during the school year, including the history, spelling and writing clubs. She plans to join FFA when she is old enough.
The Hudson family hasn’t had a television for five years now, and Debra commented that she felt is was definitely a positive adjustment for them.
“I’ve watched their imaginations just soar,” she said.
As for schoolwork getting in the way of having fun this summer, Rebecca isn’t the least bit worried.
“I’ve already had two sleepovers,” she said with a grin, “and I get to do gymnastics.”
Rebecca has big dreams for the future. She plans to be a biologist and study animals. The excitement in her eyes showed her passion for the field as she told in detail her dreams for the future.
“I want to study how living on an island affects the way an animal evolves,” she explained. “I hope to one day explore a new island, or discover something. I’ve always wanted to discover something.”