FTCC Makes the Connection With High School Connections
by MARY SCHMID
By taking advantage of the HSC program, students can often participate in
On the evening of May 10, 120 high school students reached a milestone in
programs that they might not otherwise be able to access. Not every school in
their educational journeys. From this group, students who chose to walk
the area can offer an award-winning culinary program
quietly took their places in line somewhere
or find the resources needed to teach automotive and
in the recesses of the Crown Coliseum.
machining classes. Fayetteville Tech is also on the
They straightened their graduation gowns
cutting edge of technology and offers several computerand made sure that their tassels were
based programs, such as information technology
hanging from the correct side of their
hardware/software, computer programming, graphic
mortarboard caps.
design and social media. Opportunities abound to get
As the processional music began, the
a jump-start on a career choice in fields like green
high school students entered the floor of
sustainable architecture, criminal justice, infant/toddler
the Crown and took their seats alongside
care or fire protection technology.
roughly 1,000 other students. Collectively,
Students can even choose to take college-transfer
this group of graduates prepared for their
courses in order to fulfill some of their general education
commencement not from high school, but
requirements for college. The list goes on and on; there
from college. This was Fayetteville Technical
truly is a program for just about everyone.
Community College's graduation ceremony.
Students who wish to participate in High School
One might be tempted to wonder how (and Through High School Connections, FTCC invites and
encourages local public, private and home-school students Connections for 2013-2014 must be rising juniors
why) so many high school students were
to take college classes tuition-free.
and seniors with a weighted GPA of approximately 3.0
invited to participate in a college graduation
(program requirements differ). As of May 10, there
ceremony. These young men and women
were nearly 500 students already signed up for next year, and many more will
were part of FTCC's High School Connections program, which is designed
continue to enroll throughout the summer. Students and parents should visit
to allow local students to take tuition-free college classes during their junior
the HSC website or "like" our Facebook page to learn more about enrollment
and/or senior years of high school. The high school students attending
procedures for the fall, including days and times of open registration.
graduation had completed a full program of study at FTCC and were thus
Please don't miss out on your chance to earn free college credit
awarded a college certificate for their efforts. For a small handful of students,
in high school! We'll see you and hundreds of other high school
this was actually their second FTCC graduation; they had completed one
students at graduation 2014!
certificate program as high school juniors, and then chose to tackle a second
For more information, visit
as seniors. These students should be commended for their hard work and
MARY SCHMID, FTCC High
www.faytechcc.edu/highschool_
dedication to their studies.
School Connections Coordinator.
connections/default.asp
Through High School Connections, FTCC invites and encourages local
COMMENTS? Editor@upandcompublic, private and home-school students to take college classes tuition-free.
ingweekly.com
WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM
MAY 22-28, 2013
UCW
11
