MERRIMACK - High school students can begin their college journey before graduation, and the extra work can pay off in a big way. Class of 2020 graduate Kati Huntting, 19, will earn her associate degree in communications this month from NCC and already has a career in content creation and marketing lined up for summer.
A Londonderry High School graduate, Kati enrolled in Early College to get ahead before graduating high school, and only needed seven classes and an internship to earn her associate degree at NCC. See her story below:
“In the fall of my junior year at Londonderry High School, my best friend dragged me to a college fair. I wasn’t even thinking about college yet, much less considering getting an early start. At the fair, I met the Early College representative from Nashua Community College. I stood at the NCC booth for half an hour talking about joining NCC’s Early College program. I learned that I could start as soon as the next semester, and that I would get both high school and college credit from all of my classes that I took at NCC. The following week, I made an appointment with my guidance counselor at LHS, followed by another meeting with NCC.
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Soon enough, I was signed up for NCC classes starting in the spring of my junior year of high school. I took morning classes at NCC both on campus and online, band classes in the afternoon at LHS, some college-level courses on VLACS in between, and went to work in the evenings. I did this for a year and a half. Because I was so involved in the music program at LHS, I was unable to take some of the afternoon classes that I needed for the communications degree until after I graduated. At the same time, the ability to stay involved in the music programs allowed me to continue to be a high school kid.
I did everything I could online and even took a class or two during the summer to get as close to my degree as possible without having to give up being a part of the marching and jazz band at LHS. By the time I graduated, I was seven classes and an internship away from a college degree. I took an online class the summer after high school, and then six classes the entire year at NCC.
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As I approach the end of my NCC career, I realize how many things I’ve done that would not be possible without NCC. This semester, I’ve been an intern at two locations, and have started building a client base for my career in freelance digital content creation and marketing.
At 19, I’ve now started working with my dad’s production and entertainment business, adding a whole new scope of services as a writer and graphic designer. Soon, I will be able to say that I am a college graduate, and the first one in my immediate family, including my parents.”
High school students can earn college credit through NCC’s Dual Enrollment programs; Early College and Running Start. Early College invites highs schoolers to take classes on campus or online for college credit, and high school credit pending approval from the student’s high school. Running Start offers college and high school credit for college classes taught by high school instructors at the high school campus.
Both programs provide a highly transferable college transcript students can use at hundreds of colleges and universities around the country. Contact Patrick McGinnis at NCC to learn more, 603-578-6915, pmcginnis@ccsnh.edu.
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