Reno Reporter

Western Nevada College recently issued the following announcement.

Time management, flexibility and a sense of accomplishment are all reasons that Western Nevada College’s Jump Start program made it enjoyable for Oasis Academy’s Kailyn Sorensen.

Even though the thought of taking college classes while in high school was initially intimidating to her, Sorensen has made this most of the higher education opportunity and has become one of 110 Jump Start students who are graduating from WNC this week.

“Kailyn is so motivated and driven!” said Oasis Academy Chief Academic Officer Rochelle Tisdale. “She takes advantage of every opportunity afforded by Oasis Academy. She has been on the lacrosse team, a member of We the People, Student Council and leadership, just to mention a few, all while taking on a full college load of classes and maintaining a perfect 4.0.”

Sorensen will graduate on Thursday morning at WNC’s drive-through ceremony on the Fallon campus, only hours before she’ll participate in her commencement ceremony as co-valedictorian for Oasis Academy.

“I am excited to graduate and am fine with the drive-through format,” she said. “My sister had a drive-through graduation and it was fun to hang out with all our friends in the car and play music as we waited for her turn, so I am excited.”

WNC launched its Jump Start College in 2014 as a means to help more high school graduates earn a college education and make it more affordable for them as well. Jump Start students can earn up to 60 college credits and an associate degree while in high school.

Sorensen said that her first semester of classes in Jump Start was the most challenging.

“I had to learn how to study and to take effective notes so I could get good grades,” she said. “I was trying to do that on top of all my regular homework. I had so much more homework than I was used to and everything took so much more work and so much longer than I was used to. In that first year and, especially that first semester, I definitely pushed myself more than I ever had in school and it was very difficult.”

As a college student, Sorensen said that her Jump Start courses provided her with a schedule that wasn’t so regimented and afforded her with personal satisfaction.

“Because I was taking college classes, I was on a college schedule and didn’t have to be in school from 8-4. I liked that this gave me freedom to create my own schedule around what worked best for me,” she said. “I also liked that it was challenging, and once I had finished a class, I felt like I had learned and accomplished so much. That feeling of accomplishment at the end of each semester, looking back at everything I had learned and completed, was so rewarding.”

That sense of accomplishment amounted to much more for Sorensen as she has completed her Associate of Science degree with Summa Cum Laude academic honors.

Even though Sorensen has a two-year head-start on many college students, her career plans require her to take additional college training. She plans to become an optometrist and will attend Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, and says she will need an additional six years of higher education.

“I am so grateful that I have all my generals and early science classes finished, so when I get to college, I can take only the classes that I am interested in and that pertain to my degree,” Sorensen said.

Now that Sorensen has accomplished two more levels of education, she has the confidence and knowledge of what it takes to become successful in her future college courses. Tisdale is assured that Sorensen will succeed at BYU and beyond.

“We are so very proud of her and her accomplishments and wish her our very best as she moves on to BYU Provo to study biology to prepare for a career in optometry,” Tisdale said. “I am sure she will help us all see more clearly one day!”

For more information about WNC’s Jump Start College, go to wnc.edu/jump-start/ or contact Counseling Services at 775-445-3267 or counseling@wnc.edu.

Original source can be found here.