Christopher senior Courtney Young becomes RLC alum, CHS grad - in that order

INA, Ill. (May 20, 2015) - It takes a lot of determination and drive to become a college graduate before receiving a high school diploma, but that’s the story for Courtney Young, a senior at Christopher High School (CHS) this year and already a Rend Lake College alumna.

May is a big month for Young, who walked across RLC’s commencement stage last Saturday and will continue strutting down to graduation at CHS this Friday. She joins the ranks of very few students who have obtained a college diploma from RLC before leaving high school.

Young has been working to reach this personal goal since the summer before her junior year nearly two years ago. She said the plan was to give her a head start in college and on scholarship applications by enrolling in RLC’s dual credit and dual enrollment programs.

“Reaching this achievement has been very surreal for me,” said Young. “Graduating from Rend Lake College before I graduate from high school has been a goal of mine since the summer after my sophomore year. To finally have reached this goal is such an incredible feeling. It’s really indescribable. This achievement has certainly helped when it comes to filling out scholarship applications. It’s pretty awesome to be able to say I’m graduating from RLC with an associate’s degree in both arts and science.”

Senior Courtney Young will attend her second commencement ceremony Friday at CHS. Click on the image for a larger view.
(Photo by Brittany Silver at Brittany Silver Photography)

Every year, hundreds of students like Young take advantage of RLC’s dual credit and dual enrollment programs which allow high school students to take college-level courses tuition-free. Lisa Price, Vice President of Student Services, said these programs continue to provide financial relief to parents and caregivers in the community.

“Courtney took advantage of RLC’s dual credit courses, which are taken during the day for credit at Christopher High School as well as at RLC, plus the dual enrollment courses during each semester and the summer,” explained Price. “She also enrolled in some online courses that helped push her toward her goal. Altogether, Courtney saved her family approximately $6,000 in tuition.”

In fact, in the 2013-2014 academic year, a total of 1,581 students in 12 local high schools learned the value of RLC’s dual credit and dual enrollment programs by saving $792,110 in tuition alone. At $95 per credit hour, this means students earned 8,338 credit hours in the spring and fall semesters toward degrees at RLC.

In addition to Young, CHS enrolled 118 students (duplicated) into the RLC programs for a total of 481 credit hours and $45,695 in tuition savings. Mt. Vernon Township High School had the most participants in the programs with 981 (duplicated) for a total of 3,077 total credit hours and savings of $292,315 in tuition.

Starting with dual enrollment courses in the summer of 2013, Young embarked on a journey that would lead her to take between two and five dual credit and dual enrollment courses each semester through RLC’s programs. It all started with encouragement from her family and school advisors.

“I first heard about the dual credit courses through my high school because they offer several for juniors and seniors. However, my parents were the first to mention taking dual enrollment courses over the summer,” said Young. “When I first began taking dual credit and dual enrollment classes, they were fairly easy, only there was a little more work involved. In my last two semesters, however, I found the classes to be a bit difficult, but not unmanageable. Overall, I really enjoyed the challenges that came with taking courses at Rend Lake. I feel they helped enhance my knowledge and furthered my education while I was still enrolled at Christopher.”

Price said students like Young are the model scholars RLC enjoys working with and helping advance their personal goals. While enrolled in the RLC programs, Young worked with Price for course scheduling and guidance.

“Courtney is a very dedicated student. She began taking dual enrollment and dual credit classes the second she could,” said Price. “She is one of the few students who have ever reached this level of graduating from both high school and college at the same time. It’s extremely rare. It’s admirable to see her striving toward her goal. She was very organized and motivated from the beginning because she had an end goal of transferring to a university. She knew she wanted to try to get scholarships, so she was working hard toward As in all her courses, plus she’s juggling several extracurricular activities. We always welcome students with her dedication and tenacity.”

If not impressive enough, Young’s achievements don’t stop at two diplomas. Not only was she enrolled as a part-time college student, but Young also competed on CHS’s varsity scholar bowl and Worldwide Youth in Science and Engineering (WYSE) teams.

On the side, she founded and served as the president of the CHS Community Service Club, plus she has been actively involved with the National Honor Society as the treasurer and drama club. As if her schedule wasn’t already packed, Young spent her spare time peer tutoring in RLC’s Writing Center and cheering for the CHS football and basketball teams.

During this time at CHS, she won several honors, including Illinois State Scholar, Daughters of the American Revolution Good Citizen Award, and Wendy’s High School Heisman School Award Winner. She served as the Christopher Area Betterment Association Student Representative and made the Honor Roll for four years and Scholar Athlete in Cheerleading for two years, both at CHS.

RLC President Terry Wilkerson said Young’s impressive resume and hard work show her commitment to education. He speaks on behalf of the college when congratulating and encouraging her to keep striving forward.

“Courtney is the perfect example of what you can accomplish with vision and plenty of hard work. Dual credit and dual enrollment are both great opportunities for students in our high schools, and this is just one of the benefits they can reap. We wish her all the best,” said Wilkerson.

For Young, the road to a higher education doesn’t stop at RLC. She plans to attend Stetson University in DeLand, Fla., this fall to major in political science and minor in business and English. The goal, she says, is to be a public policy analyst and work with laws at the state or federal level. To the students who share the same high-achieving goals as herself, Young had a few words of advice.

“Dual enrollment classes are not something to be taken lightly; they take time and effort. It’s extremely important that those wishing to do what I have develop good time management skills and only take on what they’re capable of,” said Young. “I also suggest taking advantage of instructors’ office hours and the Writing Center and Math Lab on campus. All of these resources are incredibly helpful, and I am extremely grateful that they were available during my time at RLC.”

She added, “The most important advice that I have to give is to make time for fun. Make time to spend with friends and family, go out with friends on a Friday night, spend a night watching movies with your family. Most of all, don’t forget about the people who are around to support you. I wouldn’t have made it this far without the support of my family, friends, high school teachers, and Rend Lake College instructors and counselors. I am extremely thankful for all of the people in my life who have supported me throughout this journey, because I couldn’t have done this without them.”

To learn more about RLC’s dual credit and dual enrollment programs, contact Academic Advisement at 618-437-5321, Ext. 1266.