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Student gets degree before his diploma

King George student earns associate degree before he gets his high school diploma

Date published: 6/7/2009

BY CATHY DYSON

The only thing Kyle Allwine seems to lack is a halo.

The senior at King George High School amazes others with his thirst for knowledge.

"Sometimes I wonder, 'How does this kid know so much?'" said Assistant Principal John Carter.

After Scott Mechling taught Kyle Western civilization, the two talked about books and historical events "the same way that I would discuss the topics with colleagues," Mechling said.

Yet Kyle is hardly a nerd who always has his nose in a book.

He's outgoing and talkative, the captain of the tennis team and founder of the lacrosse club.

Most of the students with whom he plays golf or works on community-service projects don't know he's a straight-A student who also took college classes in high school.

"I try to keep it quiet," he said. "Some people aren't really good at school, and I'm really lucky, I've been good at it."

So good, in fact, that the 18-year-old earned an associate degree from Rappahannock Community College in May--before he got a high school diploma. He'll graduate from King George High on Saturday.

He crammed two years of college into four years of high school, while completing three years of rigorous studies at the Chesapeake Bay Governor's School.

He was one of three high school students who received community-college degrees from Rappahannock in early May.

Nathan Rose from Lancaster High School completed the same arduous schedule. Alicia Britt did two years at the governor's school, then spent her senior year at Caroline High School. (See accompanying story.)

"It's becoming more common around the state" for high school students to earn community-college degrees, said Felicia Packett, registrar at Rappahannock. "But it's a very small percentage of our graduating class."

Cindy Ewoldt, who coordinates the Rappahannock program at King George, believes Kyle is the first King George student to earn the honor.

"To me, it's pretty remarkable," she said. "He's been very dedicated and very disciplined. You have to be able to budget your time wisely."

Kyle has practically majored in that.

For his sophomore, junior and senior years, he has gone to morning classes at the governor's school facility at Bowling Green Elementary School. The governor's school has a partnership with Rappahannock, so Kyle accumulated college credit for courses in marine science and biology, chemistry and physics.

Caroline students gets her degree before diploma Alicia Britt took an ambitious--yet practical--approach to her education. She was a sophomore at Caroline High School and attending morning classes at the Chesapeake Bay Governor's School. She heard about credits she could earn from Rappahannock Community College through its partnership with the governor's school. She told her parents--Kathy, a school administrative assistant, and Richard, an accountant--that she wanted to get her associate degree from Rappahannock before she graduated from high school. The plan made sense on several levels. Alicia could get through general classes at Rappahannock more cheaply than at a four-year university and do her bean-counting father proud. Her parents paid about $2,000 for tuition and books at Rappahannock. "You really can't beat that," she said. She'll enter the University of Virginia's College at Wise in the fall as a junior and focus on pre-medical classes. She'll do two years there, then hopes to attend medical school at U.Va. and become an obstetrician/gynecologist. She'll get through her first year at Wise--a small campus in Southwest Virginia--debt-free, and hopes to do the same the next year. She received a number of grants and scholarships. Her practical nature came into play in another decision. After two years in governor's school, Alicia, 18, opted out of the rigorous program her senior year. She stayed at Caroline for morning classes, then did online studies at home. Trying to juggle the stresses of high school, governor's school, college credits and a part-time job for a third year would have been "enough to make you crazy," she said, laughing. The break gave her a new appreciation for classmates she hadn't seen since the ninth grade and an area she has come to love. "I used to say that I hated Caroline County, but I love it," she said. "Looking back at all the great opportunities afforded me--and anyone who wants to take advantage of them--I don't know why students talk bad about it." Kyle Allwine is one of those students who care about learning, not just about grades, said Kevin Goff, site director of the Chesapeake Bay Governor's School. Even so, Kyle's grades are stellar. He had a perfect 4.0 grade-point average at Rappahannock Community College and a 4.5 GPA at King George High School. He graduated from Rappahannock summa cum laude--the highest honor--and will graduate from King George High as class salutatorian.

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Date published: 6/7/2009

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