News

MARSHALLTOWN & GRINNELL – It’s not often that a high school student will earn a college degree before receiving his/her high school diploma, but fifty area seniors are on track to do just that.

Earning your high school diploma may seem like a common accomplishment. The fact that such a high number of area high school students took advantage of being able to take college classes at no cost the same time as they were taking high school credits and earning their college degree or diploma is a huge accomplishment.

Through the high schools’ partnership agreements with MCC, the high schools pay the tuition and fees for college classes (at a reduced rate), which amounts to a savings of more than $13,000 for each of the students earning their Associate of Arts Degree.

Area high school students that have earned their high school diploma and a degree from MCC include:

BCLUW High School – Edward Aucoin (Manufacturing Welding Practitioner Diploma); Blaedyn Benscoter (Manufacturing Welding Practitioner Diploma); Everett Bernard (Manufacturing Welding Practitioner Diploma); Ray Callaway (Manufacturing Welding Practitioner Diploma); Henry Kaisand (Manufacturing Welding Practitioner Diploma) and Keaton Woosley (Manufacturing Welding Practitioner Diploma).

BGM High School – Joeseph Irlbeck (Associate of Arts).

East Marshall High School – Carlin Gould (Associate of Arts); Addison Dobson (Associate of Arts); and Donavan Happe (Manufacturing Welding Practitioner Diploma).

GMG High School – Xander Bowers (Manufacturing Welding Practitioner Diploma); Zach Duncan (Manufacturing Welding Practitioner Diploma); Brayden Duden (Manufacturing Welding Practitioner Diploma); Kooper Gill (Manufacturing Welding Practitioner Diploma); Caiden Wobeter (Manufacturing Welding Practitioner Diploma); Brandon Zaldana (Manufacturing Welding Practitioner Diploma).

Grinnell High School – Austin Astelle (Manufacturing Welding Practitioner Diploma); Aaron Campbell (Manufacturing Welding Practitioner Diploma); Kaleb Krumm (Manufacturing Welding Practitioner Diploma); Tyler Leris (Manufacturing Welding Practitioner Diploma); Rhett Nagel (Manufacturing Welding Practitioner Diploma); Zachary Nickle (Automotive Repair Technology Associate of Applied Science Degree); Skylor Stoaks (Manufacturing Welding Practitioner Diploma); and Gavin Valencic (Manufacturing Welding Practitioner Diploma).

Marshalltown High School – Rochelle Avalos (Associate of Arts); Marcus Barker (Associate of Arts); Lilly Duff (Associate of Arts); Alivia Eaton (Associate of Arts); Brenna Hempy (Associate of Arts); Veronica Herrera (Associate of Arts); Zoe Johnson (Associate of Arts); Taylor Jones (Associate of Arts); Jonah Landas (Associate of Arts); Levi Ogston (Manufacturing Welding Practitioner Diploma); Alejandro Rivas Alanis (Associate of Arts); Erin Stanley (Associate of Arts); Jose Manuel Vergara (Associate of Arts); and Cassidy Wedemeyer (Associate of Arts).

South Tama County High School – Clayton Graff (Manufacturing Welding Practitioner Diploma); Anna Harken (Associate of Arts); Draysen Henle (Manufacturing Welding Practitioner Diploma); Neena Lasley (Manufacturing Welding Practitioner Diploma); Campbell McCreary (Manufacturing Welding Practitioner Diploma); and Miles Zmolek (Automotive Repair Technology Associate of Applied Science Degree).

West Marshall High School – Jake Affeldt (Manufacturing Welding Practitioner Diploma); Levi Braddy (Manufacturing Welding Practitioner Diploma); Luke Coulter (Manufacturing Welding Practitioner Diploma); Ethan Finch (Manufacturing Welding Practitioner Diploma); Tony McKinney (Manufacturing Welding Practitioner Diploma); Kalyn Polley (Associate of Arts); and Parker Reese (Manufacturing Welding Practitioner Diploma).

Irlbeck from BGM, has been taking classes since the first semester of his sophomore year. When asked what the motivation was for him to start taking college classes while still in high school he said, “Mostly to save money for my bachelor’s degree but also it was just a cool thing to do!”

Gould from East Marshall has also enjoyed her time at MCC while taking college classes. “The MCC staff is amazing! My advisor as well as my teachers answer emails quickly and are great at reaching out to ensure high school students are always informed about what is happening on campus.”

BCLUW: Pictured from left to right: Edward Aucoin, Keaton Woosley, Everett Bernard, Henry Kaisand, Ray Callaway and Blaedyn Benscoter.

BGM Graduate Joeseph Irlbeck

East Marshall: From left to right: Donavan Happe, Addison Dobson and Carlin Gould.

GMG: From left to right: Kooper Gill, Xander Bowers, Caiden Wobeter, Brayden Duden and Zachery Duncan.

From left to right: Skylor Stoaks, Austin Astelle and Kaleb Krumm. Not pictured: Zachary Nickle, Aaron Campbell, Tyler Leris, Rhett Nagel and Gavin Valencic.

Front row sitting from left to right: Alejandro Rivas Alanis, Taylor Jones, Lilly Duff, and Erin Stanley. Back row pictured from left to right: Alivia Eaton, Rochelle Avalos, Veronica Herrera, Cassidy Wedemeyer, Marcus Barker, Jose Manuel Vergara, and Jonah Landas. Not pictured: Brenna Hempy, Levi Ogston and Zoe Johnson.

STC: From left to right: Miles Zmolek, Neena Lasley, Anna Harken, Draysen Henle, Clayton Graff and Campbell McCreary.

West Marshall: Front row from left to right: Tony McKinney, Levi Braddy and Kalyn Polley. Back row from left to right: Parker Reese, Luke Coulter, Ethan Finch and Jake Affeldt.