May 10, 2023
By: Dwayne Page
A college degree and a high school diploma!
Five seniors at DeKalb County High School, Setson Agee, Chandler Johnson, Emma Johnson, Ryder Miller, and Layla Walker are now college graduates. They have each earned an associate degree from Motlow State Community College, and they walked the line Monday evening, May 8 in a Motlow ceremony at MTSU in Murfreesboro, four days before their graduation at DCHS Friday night, May 12.
Through Motlow College’s dual enrollment program, high school students can earn college credits through on-line courses while still enrolled in high school.
Students who have completed their sophomore year and have met all requirements for taking the desired college courses may apply. Public, private and home-schooled students are all welcome to apply. The program gives students the chance to seamlessly transition from high school to college. The core curriculum credits transfer easily to Tennessee’s public colleges and universities while allowing students who are working on a four-year degree to save money on tuition.
In an interview with WJLE this week, each of the five seniors at DCHS talked about the thrill of earning a college degree, even before finishing high school, and their future plans.
“It was definitely a challenge, but I am glad I did it,” said Chandler Johnson, son of Dustin and Kristie Johnson. “I plan to go on to Tennessee Tech to major in biology with a health science concentration and then after that to med school because I want to become a physician,” he said.
Emma Johnson, daughter of Kelly Davis and Jeff Johnson, said two years of college will get her closer to a career in nursing. “It has been really exciting although it was a lot of hard work. It was good for me to get that head start in college. It was a good thing to do. I will be going into the nursing program at Tennessee Tech,” said Johnson.
Walker, daughter of Edward and Penny Walker, said she is excited about having earned both a college degree and high school diploma in that order. “I took a lot of classes throughout my high school career to get to this point and while the classes were very hard and long, it was a good thing for me. I plan to go to Tennessee Tech and further my education in business management,” said Walker.
Agee, son of Michael and Kelly Agee, said this has been a special week for him. “It is very exciting. It took a lot of hard work because a majority of my classes from my junior and senior years were Motlow classes. I was very nervous at the beginning but now that I have my degree I can celebrate. I am really happy about it. I will be going to MTSU to major in agriculture science,” said Agee.
Miller, son of Jason and Kacy Miller, said he had started thinking about one day taking the dual enrollment path as early as his middle school years.
“I owe this experience all to God and my Lord Jesus Christ,” said Miller. “It was something I have been wanting to do for a very long time and now I am glad I have a little bit of a head start. I just made sure I stayed on top of my assignments and didn’t procrastinate and because of that it has all come together for me. I will now be working toward my bachelor’s degree in exercise science at Tennessee Tech University and after achieving that I plan to go to Life College in Georgia, a chiropractic school and one day become a licensed chiropractor,” added Miller.