The Story of Degree Before Diploma by Samantha

The Story of Degree Before Diploma by Samantha - April 2019 Scholarship Essay

My name is Samantha Pflieger, and I am the girl who graduated college before I graduated high school. In my high school year, I was your typical involved student, National Honors society, student council, band, orchestra, and the list continues. I had strong pride for my hometown and community. I started high school a little rough, as I had to have a major hip surgery February of my freshman year. I was ready for sophomore year to begin and things to all fall into place. That next year I decided to take my first college course, then everything I thought about high school turned around. I had no idea what was in store for me. I set a goal for myself to graduate with more college credits than my sister did ten years prior and by the end of my senior year I could not process how what happened was even real.
Sophomore year I took one computer course that was worth three college credit hours. I enjoyed the pace of the class and decided that taking more College Credit Plus classes was the way to go for me. Junior year came along, and Sandusky City Schools had just built a new room called the CCP Lab, a room for students to go who are taking their college courses online. I ended up sitting in the CCP Lab for five out of my eight periods a day working hard on my 15 college credits. Most people are not used to the idea of an involved junior year student taking 15 credit hours, so the support behind me was hesitant at first. The hesitation faded once my adviser informed, I was halfway to being Sandusky City Schools first student to graduate with an associate degree.
I knew graduating high school with an Associate Degree was common at nearby school districts, but I had never heard of anyone accomplishing such task at my high school. At this point I became very focused and drive. I made the difficult decision of leaving my high school senior year to enroll at a local community college full time while still being considered a high school student. Fall semester I took 16 credits and stayed involved at school. I still went to meetings, homecoming, and football games. My challenging situation began in December of that fall semester. I found out I was going to need to have a second hip surgery four weeks before I began taking 19 credits in the spring.
It was December 14th, 2018. I took a final at 8 a.m. then went to have my hip surgery five hours later. This was my second surgery, so I was fully prepared and ready. Although, I was not fully prepared to take on 19 credits during my final semester of senior year during my recovery. Many advisers told me not to take the 19 credits and just forget about getting my Associates Degree. People said it was not worth the fight and I would not be able to balance recovery, a social life, classes, and staying involved at the High School. I knew I was up for the challenge and no matter what, I was getting that degree. So, I took the 19 credits, stayed fully involved at the school, went work, and even went on a cruise all while in recovery.
On May 4th of 2018 I graduated from Bowling Green State University Firelands with an Associate of Science Degree. On June 3rd of 2018, I became the first person from Sandusky City Schools to graduate with a college degree and diploma. You could say that I graduated college before I graduated high school. Because I was so passionate about earning my degree, I am now a first-year at University of Cincinnati with junior status. College Credit Plus is a part of who I am and where I stand as Sandusky City Schools Alumna. It was a challenging year, but I can still stand to say I am forever grateful that high school truly was the best years of my life.