Julia Gensheimer loves being a student at The Carol Martin Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science.

“It’s been wonderful. Coming to Gatton has opened so many doors. I’ve done chemistry research, been published, traveled abroad to Costa Rica,” the 18-year-old senior from Bowling Green said. “I never could have done any of that. It’s an experience with a safety net with kids your own age.”

Donors want to make sure other gifted students have that experience. The Gatton Academy received $10 million in gifts and donations to help expand Florence Schneider Hall, allowing the academy to grow from 120 to 200 students beginning in the fall of 2015. Kentucky will invest an additional $2 million, bringing the state’s total investment to the academy to $4.8 million. Carol Martin “Bill” Gatton was the lead donor for the project. The university declined to release the donation amount.

The announcement was made Wednesday during a celebration at Western Kentucky University, home of the Gatton Academy.

Gatton said he doesn’t deserve credit for the academy. The students average an ACT score of about 31.6, he said.

“You’re getting gems from all over the state of Kentucky,” he said. “What happens while they’re here is those gems get polished.”

WKU President Gary Ransdell said it is great to see a dream come true.

“The learning takes place in our classroom, in our laboratories and in our libraries,” he said. The Gatton Academy has been “the nation’s number one high school for the past three years. It’s an example of how a private/public partnership can work to benefit Kentucky and, most importantly, Kentucky’s brightest young minds.”

Organizers envisioned it as an economic development strategy for Kentucky to combat so-called “brain drain” and to build on the strength that is uniquely WKU and the Center for Gifted Studies, Ransdell said.

“We knew that this academy would provide what these students needed and that many would choose to stay and work in Kentucky rather than flee to other states where their needs might be better met prior to the Gatton Academy,” he said.

Interest in attending the academy has grown dramatically, Ransdell said.

“Our applicant pool of highly qualified young scholars from all across Kentucky more than doubled, and it was clear that now was the time to grow,” he said.

Each wing will take the name of one of Gatton’s parents. The boys’ wing will be called the Harry W. Gatton Sr. Wing while the girls’ will be named the Edith Martin Gatton Wing. Four bedrooms will be added to the second, third and fourth floors of each wing, and 10 new bedrooms will be added to the first floor.

With the increase in bedrooms on the first floor, the offices of the Gatton Academy and the Center for Gifted Studies will extend outward following the renovations.

Another addition to the building will be a second floor multipurpose room that will seat all 200 students. The space will provide a quiet room for students to study, as well as space for seminars and special events.

Beshear said when people ask why he is so excited about the future, he points to places like the Gatton Academy.

“It’s invigorating to visit a school where the energy is so evident,” he said. “The curriculum is so invigorating and the expectations are so high and the students are so engaged.”

People talk a lot about “getting the next generation ready to help Kentucky compete in this increasingly sophisticated and complicated world,” Beshear said.

“The Gatton Academy is leading the way in that mission,” he said. “We know that to be true by the national rankings that have made this high school the top high school for three years in a row. We know that by the quality of the graduates that come out of the program each year.

“Helping Gatton Academy expand its enrollment has been one of my education priorities as governor of this commonwealth and I’m thrilled to see it coming to fruition,” he said. “I know administrators here are proud that Gatton Academy graduates have come from 114 of our 120 counties, and I know they’re determined to nail down those last six counties here soon.”

Gensheimer is preparing to leave for Emory University in Atlanta to study chemistry. She’s choosing to enter as a freshman and some of her college credits will transfer. Gatton students who chose to stay at WKU often enter college as sophomore or juniors and receive scholarships.

“It’s going to be hard leaving here. I love the people here,” she said. “I’m tremendously prepared for real college.”

— Follow features reporter Alyssa Harvey on Twitter at twitter.com/bgdnfeatures or visit bgdailynews.com.