Millbrook High School definitely holds a special place in everyone’s heart, no matter if it’s the teachers, sports, friends, or the atmosphere. However, when you have the green light to graduate high school, some students jump at the chance to graduate early and start their lives. Whether it’s to start college or obtain a job, early graduation has several benefits for students but requires a lot of work to get those diplomas early. Math teacher Mrs. Michele Jones shares insight for early graduating seniors, “It might seem amazing to be done with high school, but it’s the work you put forward to get this far that counts.”

  Senior Kate Kilpatrick, who recently committed to play D1 volleyball with Old Dominion University, chose to graduate early in order to “get a head start on training with the Old Dominion volleyball team and go through the spring season with them.” On the athletic side of graduating early, Kilpatrick shares that graduating early “will benefit my playing time and strength in the fall when our season begins and I’ll be much more prepared.” 

  Most early graduating seniors finished their classes the week before winter break. But before they could finish their last semester of high school, students needed to finish certain credits and required classes. Most seniors that choose to graduate early only have to finish a maximum of four credits, whereas Kilpatrick only needed two required classes left to graduate: English IV and American History II. “I had a blocked schedule my last semester of high school,” said Kilpatrick, adding that she also took two more elective classes to fill in the rest of her schedule. 

  Graduating early is not easy work and requires seniors to become more serious in their last semester of high school. Kilpatrick shares some advice for future early graduates: “You need to stay diligent on your work to ensure you keep your grades up so you can graduate. I stayed on track all of high school and only had 2 required credits left so it was laid out perfectly for me.”

  Some of these seniors, depending on their reason for graduating early, won’t be able to attend their graduation ceremony. Kilpatrick shared that she will be in class during her graduation ceremony, since it’s on a weekday and will have already started her college classes. As exciting as it can be to be done with high school, seniors can miss high school for various reasons, but it can actually teach them lessons and how to mature themselves.

   Lastly, Kilpatrick shares her feelings about being done with high school: “It’s shocking graduating high school and less than a month later starting a brand new chapter in a brand new place with all new people, especially while all your life-long friends are still back home in high school. It definitely takes maturity and is a huge adjustment but it will be super beneficial for the future.”