Millard South High School senior receives associate's degree from Metropolitan Community College
It's becoming more and more common: high school students who get a head start on post-secondary education.
Iowa Western Community College said that 134 high school students applied to graduate this spring.
Metropolitan Community College said that it had a total of 220 high school students apply for graduation, including associate degrees and career certificates.
Millard South High School senior Nolan Galgerud is one of those students with two cap and gown sets for two different graduations.
"From freshman year to senior year, I've been taking classes that give me credit so then I now get a two-year degree after high school," Galgerud said.
Galgerud graduated with his associate's degree from Metro, two weeks before getting his high school diploma.
"You tell people, well 'my son's walking across the stage to get his associate's degree and by the way two weeks later, he'll get his high school diploma,'" Kim Galgerud, Nolan's mother, said.
A big accomplishment for the nonchalant teenager.
"There's an internal proudness but to me, I'm not someone that likes to announce my achievements, so to me it's just whatever," Nolan said.
For Kim, it's anything but "whatever."
"He kind of blows it off and acts like it wasn't a big deal but I can't even imagine doing that at his age," Kim said.
In 8th grade, Nolan applied and got accepted into Millard South's early college program.
He's now one of 142 Millard South students who applied for graduation from Metro.
"It's nice to... give the opportunity to people that may need it and it saves you a bunch of money and it saves you time," Nolan said.
As for what's next...
"The plan is to go attend UNO in the fall and then work on an accounting degree and maybe a minor in business?" Nolan said.
And after that, he hopes to run his own business. At the rate he's going, that dream doesn't seem to be out of reach.