Hayfield Graduate Earns Associate Degree Before High School Graduation

FRANCONIA, VA — A Hayfield Secondary School graduate earned her associate's degree, but not in the order you'd usually expect.

Eryn Yarrell had already earned her associate's degree from Northern Virginia Community College 19 days before receiving her high school diploma. That was possible through the dual degree program at Fairfax County Public Schools in partnership with Northern Virginia Community College.

Yarrell is part of a military family and moved seven times before fifth grade. She had attended the nearby Island Creek Elementary School in second, fifth and sixth grades. In high school, she decided to pursue the dual degree program after a cousin did the same in North Carolina.

"My parents always back my crazy ideas, but I had to come up with a plan for this," Yarrell told the FCPS blog. "When there was pushback that no one had done this before, or it had been awhile since anyone had done it at least, we went with the mentality of well then, `I will be the first.’"

Her effort to earn an associate's degree took some balancing. Corey Gilmore, Yarrell's counselor at Hayfield, ensured her schedule had time blocked out for college classes.

"In the fifteen years that I’ve been a school counselor, I had never fielded a request like hers and quite honestly I was not aware of this program that NOVA offered, Gimore told the FCPS blog.

For Yarrell, she not only got classes done but learned about college even before leaving high school.

"I used this time to knock out my English and history requirements, and most of the things that constitute general education," Yarrell told FCPS. "I also learned how to balance a schedule, advocate for myself, and learn the tricks and trades of college without actually living on campus yet."

Even while completing college courses, Yarrell didn't miss out on high school experiences like prom. She has also been a Girl Scout since kindergarten, played on the Hayfield softball team, helped found Hayfield’s student equity council and served as editor-in-chief of the Hayfield yearbook for two years.

Yarrell gives praise to her FCPS teachers throughout the years, including one who encouraged her to study Africa and how colonialism has shaped it for a fifth-grade project. Another example was her 11th grade English teacher Hendrick Booz allowing her to explore a topic of interest for a research paper. Yarrell chose to study disparities in medical care and how they've impacted the treatment of Black women.

With an associate's degree under her belt, Yarrell plans to study medicine or engineering with a full scholarship to North Carolina A&T State University in the fall.