COVINGTON, Ga.--They’ve been best friends since sixth grade at Social Circle Middle School, sharing secrets, studies and shopping adventures. Now 18, Lacy Smith and Heather Connelly will graduate together, each receiving her high school diploma as well as a college associate degree.
The duo participated in Georgia State University’s Move On When Ready (MOWR) program on the Newton Campus, each earning more than 60 college credit hours while also completing high school requirements.
Smith was motivated to enroll in MOWR by her brother, a junior at the University of Georgia.
“My brother took some dual enrollment classes, but didn’t go full time,” she said. “But I saw a girl in his class graduate with her associate degree, and that motivated me to do dual enrollment courses at Perimeter. Eventually, I decided to go full time.”
Her friend, Heather, also saw the opportunity to get her associate degree early, seizing on the program’s free college tuition and books for eligible high school students. She’ll be the first in her family to graduate from college.
“My family is really excited for me,” Connelly said.
If taking college credits in high school wasn’t enough, both girls took extra courses at Social Circle High School to become certified nursing assistants. Both volunteer and have jobs outside of school.
Graduating early wasn’t easy, Smith and Connelly said.
“You really have to plan your week and do your homework and really study. College requires a lot of time management and commitment,” Connelly said.
Both girls have been accepted to Augusta University, where Connelly is interested in studying to become a physician’s assistant, working in the gerontology field. Smith is following a pre-med track and hopes to be a dermatologist.
They’ll receive their diplomas May 11 at the 9 a.m., Perimeter College commencement on Georgia State’s Clarkston Campus.