Category | Arts & Living

Joint Enrollment Honors Program suits area high schoolers

Published on November 25, 2008 by The Sentinel

     Although the reasons behind area high school students’
participation in KSU’s Joint Enrollment Honors Program (JEHP) vary—they
may not enjoy high school, they may not be academically challenged or
they may be ready to move on—one thing is certain: the program provides
them with a valuable opportunity to earn college credit and get a taste
of college life.

    “I felt like high school did more to hinder my education than help it,” said former JEHP student Jeremy Hale. Another former JEHP student, Lauren Tankesley, added, “I was so over high school, and I didn’t have any problems transitioning.”

    Current JEHP student, Karalyn Prestwich, said, “I wasn’t really getting that [high school] experience that you see in all the movies. You know–parties, football games, sports, clubs. I did very little of any of that. I figured that high school wasn’t really worth it.” Victoria Pezzarossi, another current JEHP student, said, “High school was fun, don’t get me wrong, but I was just ready to move on.”

     Hale, who participated during the 2006–2007 academic year, heard about the program through an older friend. “She had taken a couple of classes there and I decided I would like to do the same.”  Hale was a student at East Paulding High School (EPHS) when he participated in JEHP. He was also a starting varsity soccer player at EPHS.

      Despite the difficulties of balancing courses at KSU with soccer at EPHS, Hale does not regret his experience with JEHP. “You get basic classes out of the way and you can earn dual credit for them in your high school. I also feel like it prepared me for college,” he said.

     Hale currently attends Berry College where he plans to graduate a year early with a major in physics and a double minor in chemistry and mathematics. After graduating from Berry, he wants to attend medical school

    Tankesley, a 2007–2008 JEHP student, also heard of the program through word of mouth. She was not being challenged enough in high school, so when she heard about an opportunity to go to college early, she took it. “All around, it was possibly the best decision I ever made,” she said.

     Although JEHP students are not required to live on campus, Tankesley used the option to become even more involved in college life.“Living on campus was a great step for me, as I was mature enough to handle living away from home at 16,” she said. The credits she earned in JEHP will allow Tankesley to reach her academic goals sooner than her peers. “I plan to graduate [from Georgia Tech] and go to medical school two years earlier than those who are my age. It is a great feeling,” said Tankesley.

     Karalyn Prestwich joined the program when she was a junior in high school. She is now a senior at Lassiter High School, but she takes all of her classes at KSU. Prestwich learned about joint enrollment programs through her mother and her sister, who participated in a joint enrollment program at Southern Polytechnic State University (SPSU). Her sister’s success in the joint enrollment program at SPSU was not the only reason Prestwich decided to join JEHP; she also wanted to utilize her last years of high school as a learning experience instead of a last stand of adolescence. “A lot of people take a slack schedule their senior year, but for me it’s important to always be learning and improving,” she said.

     Prestwich’s educational interests include engineering, psychology, business and dance. “The skills I learn while taking classes at KSU will help me in my further college education,” she said.

     Victoria Pezzarossi is a senior at Cartersville High School. She heard of JEHP through her high school counselor.

    “I didn’t really have that hard of a decision to make because I was ready for college and bored with high school,” said Pezzarossi.

     Although Pezzarossi was ready for college, she entered JEHP with some apprehension. “I was nervous at first because I was afraid that people would be able to tell that I was still in high school,” she said. Pezzarossi overcame her anxieties about college with effective time management and study skills. “I realized that the homework and tests weren’t any harder than those in high school as long as I studied properly,” she said.

     After she finishes JEHP, Pezzarossi plans to continue her education at Emory University. “I plan to use my experience with the program to help me get in on a scholarship,” she said. “The college experience you get in this program is priceless.”

     For more information on the Joint Enrollment Honors Program, visit www.kennesaw.edu/admissions/jehp and www.kennesaw.edu/university_studies/jehp .