Old Mill Graduate Heads to College a Year Early

Lindsie Corl laughed when she recalled her first experience in the Model United Nations Conference. 

The Old Mill High School student was looking forward to having intense debates on important world issues, but then learned of which nation she’d represent: Vanuatu, a tiny island nation with about 250,000 inhabitants.

“Unfortunately, it’s not a country that has a lot of opinions,” she said. 

But that didn’t dampen her experience, as she continued to take part in the program, and even became fundraising chair. Her intense curiosity about the world served her well over the last three years as she juggled a host of activities and a heavy course load during her high school career. 

Corl will graduate with her class on June 4—a full year early. 

“I’ve been ahead my entire life,” she said. “I thought ‘why not take that extra step?’”

The 16-year-old from Fort Meade hopes to attend Anne Arundel Community College for a semester before transferring to either UMBC or the University of Maryland, College Park. She hopes to  pursue a double major in information systems and library science.

While at Old Mill, Corl took six Advanced Placement classes and several honors classes. She said she especially enjoyed her English and world history classes. 

Corl lives at Fort Meade and came to Maryland after her stepfather was located there with the Air Force. She is no stranger to moving from place to place with her family, having lived in Colorado, Pennsylvania, Texas and New Mexico. 

“I’ve lived all over the place,” she said. “It definitely helped my education, because I know different cultures. I know Spanish ... it’s definitely made me more open-minded.”

Corl recalled a time in 9th grade when all students were encouraged to review a list of extracurricular activities. She joined as many clubs as she could, including the Model United Nations and mock trial teams, while also serving in the National Honor Society. She also ran track and stood out as a singer, earning a selection to the all-county chorus and Tri-M music honor society.

“I’ve been singing since the 8th grade,” she said. “I actually had an injury that made me stop playing the violin, so I took up singing and it was one of the better decisions I made.”

Corl also spearheaded fundraising for Old Mill’s Relay for Life team as captain. In three years, she helped raise more than $4,000 for the American Cancer Society. 

Now, she said she’s excited to be moving on from high school to the college environment. 

“It’s a type of education I’ve been looking forward to,” she said. “I’ll enjoy learning like that.”