During the May celebrations you can expect to be treated with all the Southern hospitality towards guests (translation: it's going to be awesome). Upon arrival, we were escorted to the Seelbach Hilton Louisville which was written about in The Great Gatsby. We scholars had a hospitality room stocked with food and other goodies that facilitated our introductions to one another.

Parked right outside the hotel were two Toyota vehicles (I think they were the Yaris and FJ Cruiser) so we naturally wanted to climb in and pretend to drive. The great thing is that a couple of cameramen were recording the entire Toyota Community Scholars experience so we had the opportunity to do several fun things on camera. First, we pretended to all line up on one side of the car with the door on the other side closed. With the cameras rolling, we rushed through to the other side, exhibiting the car's tremendous capacity to hold several dozen teenagers. Next, we showed off our vocal and dance skills with the radio blasted on in the FJ Cruiser. We also had several other shots, all of which were great fun.

That first night, we also had the chance to board the Belle of Louisville, a historic steamer that travels down the length of the beautiful river. On the steamer, we had a feast and also introduced one another. Once the tables were cleared away, we also had the chance to learn a special sort of dance (forgot the name!) and then dance to a live band on stage. It was a special bonding experience with a special group of students and scholars.

The Belle of Louisville where Toyota Community Scholars had a chance to mingle and dance the night away.

The next day, we were notified at breakfast that our names were out on USA Today, which elicited a loud cheer and made up for waking up early. We traveled to Toyota Georgetown where we saw in action the company that supported our scholarship program. We witnessed cars being put together and had the chance to browse the shop and talk with executives.

After returning to Louisville, we had a great opportunity to go to Churchill Downs where the Kentucky Derby had just taken place. The complex was absolutely beautiful and we saw several jockeys on the way to the race track. We were fortunate enough to even see a race and the horse I bet on (#3) won! Disclaimer: I only bet on it with my fellow scholars and then returned the money anyways so no legal ramifications there!

That evening, we had a classy event in Churchill Downs with several members of Toyota's executive team as well as all the scholars. The banquet was a grand finale to the program and the regional/national scholars were all introduced and announced. It was a memorable occasion that was highlighted later that evening by a dance party for all scholars back at the Seelbach Hotel.

The next morning, although we all had received little or no sleep, we were excited to go on the test track and drive Toyota vehicles. Throughout the morning we spent our last moments together with shiny new cars.

Being selected a Toyota Community Scholar was an incredible experience with the May recognition event a tremendous way to cap off the end of senior year. The scholars had accomplished some very impressive community objects to get to where they were and I have no doubt that all of us will continue to contribute to our global village in the future.