Dually enrolled student gets college degree before graduating high school

HUNTSVILLE — Thursday night, 18-year-old Lucas Hasting of Decatur walked across the stage at the von Braun Center to receive his Associate of Applied Science degree with a concentration in Cyber Security and Information Technology from Calhoun Community College.

Lucas will not graduate from Austin High School until May 24.

Hasting has been dually enrolled at Calhoun since the summer of 2020 where he began taking a free Python course, a high-level, object-oriented programming language.

He wasn’t sure about his major, but he was a senior in high school thinking about college. After completing a research paper for one of his high school classes, he decided to pursue a Computer Information Systems degree based on his fondness for Cyber Security.

Hasting has been receiving high school and college credits simultaneously, so he will not have to duplicate courses he has already taken. Dual enrollment lets Lucas explore different occupational fields before declaring a major and he can now seamlessly transition from high school straight to college without what is sometimes an overwhelming experience into a new learning environment.

“While sitting in my advanced freshman English class at Decatur High School, we were told by our teacher that representatives of Calhoun Community College wanted to speak with us,” Hasting explained his introduction to dual enrollment himself. “My classmates and I assumed it was just general information in regards to attending the college after graduation, but that wasn’t the case.

“The representative explained how we could attend college while going to school at the same time. I was already enrolled in AP courses, but this was different. They explained that the college courses we would be taking could be used towards a degree and that not only could I finish high school with an advanced diploma with my AP courses, but I could also receive a college degree.

“At that point, I was sold,” added Hasting.

Studies also show that dually enrolled students are more likely to graduate from high school and continue their formal education, and the accumulation of college credits often leads to early graduation for some students.

“I knew how important this would be for not only my high school goals but also my future career in Cyber Security,” Hasting said. “I set aside time throughout the day to concentrate on completing my college work for the week in advance and kept up with any other tasks by keeping lists.

“It wasn’t too hard for me. I would say the hardest part was when I entered my junior year of high school and I had to take AP Computer Science A, which required more work outside of class. It became difficult to juggle those projects, but I am proud to say, I made it through,” he added.

Calhoun’s Dual Enrollment/Dual Credit program allows eligible high school students to enroll in college courses concurrently with their high school classes. Students have the option to attend these classes at their high schools or one of Calhoun’s college campuses, and they receive both high school and college credit for those courses.

“We can’t stress enough to parents and students how important and vital it is to understand what an awesome program this is,” said Gwen Baker, Calhoun’s dual enrollment director. “Not only are you helping your child to advance, but they could enter into the workforce with a great paying career at 18 and little to no student loan debt at all.”