Last month, many students ended the year unwrapping presents from family and friends, however, a four received a more unique gift: a cap and gown. Throughout the years, students have been given the option to graduate before the rest of their class given that they have met the California high school requirements to receive their diploma or GED.
Depending on students dedication to finishing early, expedited graduations can come as soon as sophomore year.
Arianna Vargas was one of the seniors who celebrated as part of the “Class of 2013.5”.
“Going into senior year, I had a lot of credits,” said Vargas. “So much that I could have graduated as a junior because I had taken other classes, I only needed to take Government and Economics.”
Similarly, recently graduated Austin Lovelady chose to skip out early in order to pursue bigger, better things, primarily out of convenience.
With plans on enlisting this winter and training to become an army ranger, Lovelady tripled up on classes and kept his “nose to the grindstone”.
“I plan on enlisting in December and I just wanted more time to train and prepare,” Austin said. “This gave me an extra six months and the hours to work full time.”
Although tripling up on classes wasn’t necessarily easy, Lovelady felt it was far more than worth it. “I toughed it out and came out alright. It feels good to be free from school—I’m basically an adult.”
With training seven days a week and work forty hours a week, Lovelady has been keeping himself preoccupied till enlisting time comes around.
At Redwood, students need to fulfill 220 credits in order to graduate. This includes four years of Social Studies, which commonly ends with Government in the fall and Economics in the spring.
According to counselor Randel Kelly, students often have to plan ahead if they wish to graduate early. This includes doubling up in a department—where students takes multiple courses for one subject each semester.
Vargas saw early graduation as a head start in life after high school. “It saves you money and time, and you basically get an extra semester to do what you want,” Vargas said.
Another shining aspect of graduating early is being done with hours spent sitting in a stuffy classroom. “School just wasn’t for me,” Lovelady said. “I didn’t genuinely feel like I was benefiting or even learning from most of the classes I was taking. It was just stuff that wouldn’t really benefit me later on in life.”
In the past, students have used this additional time to explore careers locally and to study abroad. Similar to Lovelady and his training prior to enlisting, Vargas is currently enrolled at College of Marin, has already dabbled in career fields she finds interesting.
Early graduation provides another layer in planning a student’s future. Vargas plans to transfer from College of Marin to a four year college while her classmates will be directly applying from high school.
