Napa Valley College: Napa High Student Began Her NVC Career At Age 13

Press release from Napa Valley College:

2022-02-16

Here at Napa Valley College, we always say there is no such thing as a typical student. Many of our students begin taking classes with us after high school. Some students start their journey with us after retirement, or while they are in their prime working years.

And some begin before they can legally drive.

Liliana Karesh is one of those students. She is 15 now, a freshman at Napa High School in Napa, and is currently enrolled in History 120. But she has already completed 24.5 credits at NVC, having taken her first class at the tender age of 13.

She first enrolled in the fall of 2019, as a 7th grader at Silverado Middle School, to take Piano 3. “I didn’t have my private piano teacher anymore, so I took advantage of NVC’s piano classes,” she says now. Pre-pandemic, that class was the first and last one she took in person, on campus, in the evening. “My mom drove me there and dropped me off, and she would pick me up afterward,” Liliana remembers.

“Then in summer 2020 I had some time on my hands and I wanted to experiment with what I could take,” Liliana says. “That summer I took a PhotoShop class and a music theory class. In the fall, I took geology, business and another music theory class. Then in spring 2021 I took art and three fitness classes.”

Liliana attends classes at NVC as part of the Dual Enrollment program, which allows middle or high school students to take courses for which they earn both K-12 and college credit. Not all of Liliana’s credits earn dual credit, but many do. To initially become enrolled, Liliana worked with her high school counselor and with NVC dean of enrollment and outreach services Jessica Erickson.

“She directed me how to get signed up, and what classes to take,” Liliana explains. “I also met with a transfer credits counselor and she helped me discover a program to transfer all my credits to a UC.”

Her selections so far are all General Education classes. The fitness classes were a strategic choice, Liliana says, as they count toward her college credits but also count toward her high school PE requirements, allowing her to take elective courses that she otherwise would not have had space in her schedule to take.

“I knew I could do so much more once I was registered; it just takes a little research and effort,” she says. “I knew that I could get ahead of people in my high school class and expand my knowledge on a lot of different subjects and challenge myself.”

This press release was produced by Napa Valley College. The views expressed here are the author’s own.