Richland student returns back home
photo credit: Taylor Veracruz
This is where I belong \\ After a year at Richland College, senior Jamie Tyson returns to East. “I feel like there is a reason I need to be at East, like this is where I belong my senior year,” Tyson said. “I want to graduate in a blue cap and gown with the people I grew up with.”
September 24, 2014
Leaving college and coming back to high school, senior Jamie Tyson had hopes of earning high school credit and earning an associate’s degree in arts by the time she graduated high school.
“It is always beneficial for a student to get a head start on their college hours while in high school as long as they are ready for the rigor of the course,” counselor Emily Whittle said.
Tyson returned to high school after a year at Richland College. The main reason she left Richland College is because she had already completed all the basic credits Richland has to offer in her major of fashion design.
Richland does not offer any classes in fashion design, meaning if Tyson was to attend Richland for another year as a high school-college student, she would be required to take certain classes including science, that are required for high school, but not for a degree in fashion design. Then she would be taking classes she did not need which could count against her.
“I actually earned 30 hours of college credits,” Tyson said. “Most full time college students take four classes a semester; I was taking eight classes a semester.”
The process of transferring to Richland College began with sending transcripts to the college and then Tyson was assigned an advisor to help create her schedule.
“Transferring to Richland was incredibly easy,” Tyson said.
The biggest differences between Richland and high school is attending school with students of varying ages, from 16 to 60.
“Personally, I loved making friends of all ages,” Tyson said.
Classes were on a block schedule versus attending the same classes every day like in high school and there was an extended break in-between classes.
“My experience at Richland has been very stressful and requires a lot of sacrifice but I am still hanging in there,” Samantha Ochoa, another Wylie East student now attending Richland, said.
Tyson claims that Richland was a great experience and really prepared her for future classes that she will attend at the University of North Texas.
“My work ethic and study skills have improved tremendously and I am so thankful for the skills Richland gave me,” Tyson said.
