Former Scholar Finds a Home at Habitat
By Sarah Czarnecki
Tates Creek High School, Lexington

“I loved GSP,” said Jackie Isaacs, Family Services coordinator at Habitat for Humanity in Louisville. “I loved being able to define who I was by who I wanted to be, rather than by who I was supposed to be.”
As a rising high school senior in 1999, Jackie was selected for a five-week summer residency with the Kentucky Governors Scholars Program, an experience she describes as life changing. The program involves scholars in academic, leadership and public-service training while living on a college campus.
This year, a group of 360 Governor’s Scholars based at Bellarmine University worked on a Habitat for Humanity home, a project that delighted Jackie, who was intimately involved in the selection and training of the Somali immigrant family who would occupy the home. It was by far the most challenging public service project ever attempted by the GSP.
The cost to become a Habitat House sponsor is $40,000, money that was provided by the Governor’s Scholars Program Foundation, a private, non-profit organization that raises money to help defray GSP’s expenses and provide community service opportunities such as this.
Aristófanes Cedeño executive director of GSP, has a strong passion for the homeless and has worked hard to make this project possible. Jackie Isaacs has been working with Habitat for five years, meeting with prospective families during the application process and helping with finances.
Coincidentally, Jackie attended GSP on the Northern Kentucky University campus in 1999 when Aris was executive director on that campus and they remain close friends to this day. Aris says he admires her deep commitment to Habitat. And Jackie says her GSP experience inspired her to dedicate her life to public service.
“GSP was my first exposure to a wider world than the people I had always gone to school with and the activities that I had always done,” Jackie said. “While at GSP, I attended a camp called UDSAP (University of Dayton Studies of Appalachia Project), which provided numerous services to underprivileged children and at-risk teens in Eastern Kentucky.”
The UDSAP camp made her realize that she wouldn’t be satisfied working a normal 9 to 5 job. She wanted to be able to work in an environment where she could serve other people and make a real difference. Habitat was an easy choice for her.

Jackie Isaacs attends the final dedication of the GSP Habitat House

“The most rewarding thing is always seeing the transformation of the families,” she said. “There are those really incredible times when I get to see families grow in their self-confidence, learn how to manage their finances better, learn how to use power tools…and then they come out of this program ready to grow and change their lives.”
She describes Habitat for Humanity as a truly amazing program, and is very happy that the scholars have the opportunity to get involved with the organization.
“I have never found another environment that could rival the intellectual and emotional stimulation that GSP offered,” Jackie said, adding that she believes this year’s scholars are truly blessed to be involved with such a great cause.