Local school districts have been expanding opportunities for students to take college-level courses, and while many teens have taken advantage of the offerings, a Nelson County High School student stepped up the challenge.
Eva Hagerman, who just turned 17, graduates this weekend a year earlier than her classmates — and with a college degree.
“She crammed,” Lori Hagerman said of her daughter’s hard work. “She even did summer classes.”
Hagerman joins five other county graduates who will receive their high school diploma and an associate degree this spring through a partnership with Elizabethtown Community and Technical College. Hagerman, Morgan Bickel and Caroline Hayden earned an associate of science degree and Brett Phelps, Kamryn Stone and Mikaella Tanales earned an associate of arts degree.
The two-year associate degree program is something Nelson County Schools has offered for a few years, but it has been only in the last two the program has come to fruition for students.
Students participating in the program have the opportunity to take dual-credit and advanced courses and potentially earn an associate of arts or associate of science before leaving high school if they earn enough college credits. Doing so can provide them a head start if they plan to pursue a four-year degree later on.
“Eva is a very dedicated student that has been driven and prepared to earn her AA since entering high school,” NCHS Counselor Fiona Downey said, adding Eva graduated a year early as well and was able to walk with the Class of 2021
Courses can be a mixture of online and in-person classes, and often would include students starting advanced summer courses between their freshman and sophomore year.
“What helped is my freshman and sophomore years I took a lot of dual credit and AP classes they offered at the high school, so whenever I started taking full online college classes, it wasn’t as much of a load,” Hagerman said.
Students must follow a tight schedule to complete the program upon graduation. Students must also take the ACT and meet other requirements to participate.
While Hagerman knew she wanted to pursue her associate degree in high school, graduating early wasn’t part of the original plan.
“Last semester, I was calculating all of my credits and I realized if I just crammed a little bit I could graduate early, so why not?” she said.
Over the summer, Hagerman took three college courses. In the fall, she took five and five more this spring. She focused on general education courses, such as English, biology, chemistry, history, computer courses and even an accounting course. All of her courses were online aside from the ones she took that were offered through NCHS.
“It was overload, but it got her done,” her mom said.
Balancing the course load was difficult, Hagerman admitted. She also works at the St. Joseph Montessori School on the Nazareth Campus in afterschool care.
“It was a little bit stressful, but I’m glad I did it now. I have that all over with,” she said.
Not only does earning the degree in high school save money down the road, but it also saves time.
“That’s two years off of college,” she said. “Even if I don’t go to college, that’s credentials I already have.”
Hagerman plans to attend Liberty University and pursue accounting.
By completing the program along with some of her older peers, Hagerman hopes other students will become interested in pursuing the advanced classes as well.
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May 26, 2021 at 10:00AM
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