Today, I had the opportunity to spend the day with a group of high school students who are graduating tomorrow from our college. These young men and women have it together. They know who they are and where they want to go. We hear so many negative comments about today’s youth that I was pleasantly surprised by their focus and ambition. They want to be nurses, lawyers, and teachers with a plan on how they will achieve their goals. These students are definitely “high-fliers!”

The Dual Enrollment program with have established at their high schools allowed these students to start taking college classes before their ninth grade year and continue to take college classes throughout their high school years in addition to their high school courses. I listened to them describe the sacrifices they had to make to be successful in their college and high school courses. It made me wonder…did they develop these skills as a result of taking college courses, or were these skills developed elsewhere?

Either way, having the opportunity to interview these students reinvigorated me to work harder to make sure that more young people, like these students, have the chance to take college classes while they are in high school. It is a win-win for everyone involved!