Dual enrollment is a program in which students complete college classes while attending high school. For three students, it is essential in getting a head start.

Both senior Catherine Whitcomb and junior Emma Lewis attend Wake Tech North Campus. For Lewis, her experience is enjoyable.

“It’s really good. It’s kind of hard because I’m doing online classes and not in person,” Lewis said. “There’s not a professor or anything for me to talk to, so it’s a lot on my own.”

Lewis admitted she struggled fall semester to keep balance.

“It’s kind of hard because I had A day B day here, newspaper, a fourth period, but I don’t have my third. This is in my place of my third, and then I also have a job so that’s hard, but it is helpful because I get to do all of my work during third period,” Lewis said. “Even though it’s difficult, I’m making it work.”

Lewis noticed one big difference between her high school classes and her class at Wake Tech.

“I think I’m the only high school student in my class, so everyone is like 20 years old or older, so that’s kind of hard. You have to e-mail if you have any questions at all and hope she just replies. That’s hard,” Lewis said.

Lewis, who wants to work in the medical field, made the decision with her mom, thinking ahead, to finish college early.

“The classes you get to select when you’re a high schooler still are the classes you take your first four years of university, so it helps build up, and honestly, you start junior year first semester and go all the way to your senior year, you can get a whole degree out of the way,” Lewis said. “That’s really helpful, and that’s why my mom wanted me to do it. I already know I’m going to be in college for a long time based on the career I want. I just wanted to go ahead and get some out of the way.”

Whitcomb, who wants to practice law is taking classes that teach her how to better strategize the resolution of conflicts.

“I’m taking a statistical math, which is a whole entire probability class, and so we’re learning how to estimate probability for how likely something is to happen, so in order for that to happen in law, you have to be able to second guess and figure out problems,” Whitcomb said.

Senior Wyatt Mote is currently dual enrolled at Vance-Granville Community College.

“There are a lot more essays to be written in college classes than in here,” Mote said.

Participating in dual enrollment is proactive for Mote.

“It’s helping me to get a few college credits if I decide to go to a four year university. If I go there, I already have a few credits under my belt.”