As parents and siblings fill the gymnasium seniors take their seats as they get ready to walk on stage, shake Belin’s hand, and get their diploma but then junior Delaney Stock walks on stage. If you did not know Huntley High School offers juniors with enough credit to graduate a year early.
¨I decided I wanted to graduate a year early because I realized I had enough credits to do so, [and] I thought it would be better [to] take a gap year between high school and college to work and get some gen-ed classes out of the way at MCC,” Stock said.
Since she had enough credits and she knew she would be okay with taking that gap year she is ready to graduate a year early but would she be planning on going to college? If so what type of college would she want to go to a 2-year college or a 4-year college?
“I plan on going to a four-year university in the summer of 2025 and possibly get my master’s degree after that I do not know where I want to go to college but I do not want to go to college anywhere cold,” Stock said.
I feel the same as her. I would not want to live anywhere that has cold weather, especially in Illinois where the winter storms make it almost impossible to navigate wherever your destinations are. However, Stock seems to have made big goals for herself in the future and she is setting herself to hopefully not carry much, if any debt after college.
But what would she tell her parents? Would they let her pursue the path she has paved for herself and her future or would they want her to spend her last full year as a kid gaining valuable experiences in high school before being catapulted prematurely into the workforce?
“I supported her decision to graduate a year early. It also did not come as a shock because her sister did it too,” Delaney’s mother said.
It was probably nice that her sister went through the same thing so her mom knew what to say and now her mom could help her with anything if she had any questions. She can also ask her sister any questions because she has gone through the exact thing that she is going through right now.
“My parents supported my decision to graduate early and thought it was a really good way to get a head start on college and start saving up money,” Stock said.
It is always nice to know that you have your parents’support and especially with the big “college” talk it is nice to know she has support. Stock sought help from her sister because she graduated a year early and got that little break before making the big transition to a four-year college.
¨It was nice to graduate a year early. I got to attend MCC for a semester and transfer the credits to a four-year university” Delaney’s sister, Ella Stock, said.
This is exactly what she wants to do so it is nice to follow in her sister’s footsteps. This also encouraged Stock to graduate a year early after seeing how much it helped her sister in the long run. So, if you have enough credits you should see if you are able to graduate early by talking to your counselor and college counselor if you are interested!
