Done In December

Students may decide to graduate early for a number of reasons. For example, they may have all twenty-four credits required for graduation and do not see a point in staying an extra semester, or they might be eager to begin their postsecondary plans. Here at KHS, we have quite a few students planning to join different branches of the armed forces.

Veida Shockey-12 says “School has just never been my thing, so I took the opportunity given to me to finish early so I can start my life already and get out of here.”

Currently, KHS has seven students planning to graduate this December. High school counselor Brenda Niemeyer says most students who decide they want to graduate early do so at the beginning of the second semester of their junior year.

Graduating early has many benefits, Niemeyer says, “. . .for those students who have a specific plan, it allows them to begin pursuing that plan right away.” The drawbacks are only minor. “They still have connections with their old friends, but they are not engaged in the same way with activities that go on in high school,” Niemeyer said.

After graduating early, students could spend their new free time doing many things. “After this semester is over, I plan on going to MACC starting the next spring semester,” Shockey-12 said.