Borger's first Cohort Group earns Associates Degree
BORGER, Texas (KVII) — A group of seniors at Borger High School are making school history by receiving their Associates Degree three weeks before receiving their high school diploma. 22 seniors made up the first Cohort Group from the high school with Frank Phillips College.
The students were able to get a jump start on their college work by earning an Associated Degree.
“I want to become a doctor,” said Kylee Ramsey, senior at Borger H.S. “I have a lot of school work ahead of me, so I have the opportunity to be a doctor sooner by doing this.”
“I chose to get into the program because of how far ahead it would put me,” said Lauren Gillespie, senior at Borger H.S. “With my college years ahead of me I can get all the basics done.”
Borger H.S. and FPC formed a cohort giving students the chance to take dual-credit classes for free thanks to donations from businesses and scholarships. The students had to sacrifice a summer and increased their workload to graduate with an AA Degree. The students tell ABC 7 News it was a worthwhile investment.
“It’s absolutely worth it,” said Austin Saxon, senior at Borger H.S. “When it comes to college and getting as better education and get a better job then it’s worth it. It’s better to be in class doing something productive than doing something stupid.”
“It was hard to constantly keep going and going,” said Kathryn Gonzales, senior at Borger H.S. “It was worth it to me. We made some good friends.”
The partnership is also a big investment for communities in Hutchinson County.
“It gives us a much better educated community,” said Shannon Carroll, V.P. for Academic Affairs at FPC. “If these students go off to college and come back and go to work in Hutchinson County then we’ve been able to give them a really good start.”
A second cohort is helping another wave of students at Borger H.S. complete the same task and earn an Associates Degree. Plans are in the works to start a third cohort to help more students as well.
Students from the first cohort are receiving their AA degree on Friday at 7 p.m.
