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Incredibly Successful

Wednesday, February 17, 2021

by Jake Ekdahl, The Freeman

These days, it’s not uncommon for high schoolers to earn some college credits before finishing up senior year, but Waukesha North senior Nicole Cheesman earned enough credits for a whole degree.

Cheesman will actually graduate from Waukesha County Technical College with an associate’s degree in business this May, before her June graduation from North. She participated in the Start College Now program offered through the Wisconsin Technical College System*, which gives high schoolers the opportunity to take college courses at Wisconsin technical colleges.

“Nicole is one of the most ambitious and driven students I have ever worked with,” said Waukesha School District Counselor Heidi Stigler, in a statement. “She is taking a record number of college credits through Start College Now (18 credits) this fall semester alone. I have never had any other student come close to attempting that many credits in one semester. Most students never come close to that number of college credits during their high school career.”

Nicole Cheesman said she learned about Start College now through older her brother, Alex, who participated in the program, focusing on robotics and automation. She began by taking three courses at WCTC last summer.

“I liked them a lot,” she said. “I took psychology and that’s one of my favorite things.”

A typical day in Nicole Cheesman’s life starts with online advanced marketing and English classes through Waukesha Schools, followed by a workday at her family’s business, Sussex Tools, and night classes taken online through WCTC. On her days off, she works a second job at Metro Market.

“She has no downtime,” said Angela Cheesman, Nicole’s mother.

WCTC Dual Credit Specialist Nicole Luzich said Nicole credited the college’s eight-week terms as being beneficial to getting so much done so quickly. She began with nine credits last summer, followed by 30 in the fall and this semester she has 23. A typical course is three credits, which means Nicole has been taking more credits than a typical full time WCTC student, on top of her other responsibilities.

“She had goals in mind,” Luzich said “She pushed and she was incredibly successful.”

WCTC Early College Opportunities Manager Sandra Maylen said transcripted courses are also helpful. Those allow students to take WCTC courses while still in high school, which are taught by a qualified high school instructor. “They can take these classes before they even have a drivers’ license,” she said.

Maylen said if a student has a particular area of interest and wants to explore it, they should take as many classes as they can and stay in contact with their high school counselor.

Robert Cheesman, Nicole’s father, said he can see more students taking advantage of such programs as long as the word gets out.

Nicole Cheesman said her friends have reacted in a bewildered but ultimately productive way to the news of her earning an associate degree before a high school diploma.

“They all said I was crazy for doing it so fast, but they were also really supportive about it,” she said, adding it may have motivated some friends to begin thinking about their own college plans and next steps.

For Nicole, the immediate next steps are continuing to work her jobs at Sussex Tool and Metro Market and beginning to save and invest for her own apartment or house.

*The original text credited the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) as the coordinator of Start College Now. The DPI’s college-credit program is the Early College Credit Program.

reprinted with permission from Conley Media, publishers of The Freeman and gmtoday