Maddie Giebler isn’t waiting to take advantage of OTC’s “Start Here Go Anywhere” offer to students.
The senior from Hollister High School has already earned half of her associate degree credits while still attending high school and OTC simultaneously.
Maddie is one of two Hollister High School students enrolled in OTC’s new Dual-Graduation Program, which began last fall at the Table Rock campus.
Through the program, students take college courses that count toward college credits and high school graduation requirements.
“The experience for the student in the Dual-Graduation Program is completely different than a Dual Credit Program since they are enrolled as a full-time college student in classes full of college students,” said Dr. Rob Griffith, Dean of Academic and Student Affairs at the Table Rock campus.
“In a traditional dual credit model, they simply take a regular high school course with a bit of additional rigor.”
As a result of her work, after she graduates from high school and OTC in 2017, Maddie will take her Associate of Science Degree in engineering from OTC and head to the University of Arkansas where she plans to major in civil engineering.
“I’d like to be an environmental engineer. I’m really interested in studying the effects of climate change,” she said.
This summer, Maddie is taking analytical geometry at the OTC Springfield Campus. In the fall, she will take classes in drafting and design, Calculus II, and physics for engineering. It’s a tough schedule, but she wouldn’t have it any other way.
“When I heard about the program, I knew it was for me. I knew it was what I wanted to do. It’s pretty much the best choice I can make for myself,” she said.
“I can be more independent and take classes I care about. It’s matured me. I have to be an adult. I don’t’ feel like I’m in high school anymore.”