SAUGUS — High School students who took part in the school’s early-college program with North Shore Community College were honored on June 7.
Forty-one students who completed courses in the fall and spring semesters as part of the school’s first year conducting an early-college program were awarded certificates in a ceremony at the Middle/High School.
Two classes were offered in the fall and three more were offered in the spring, including courses in public speaking, sociology, early-childhood education, and career pathways.
Middle/High School Principal Brendon Sullivan addressed students who took part in the program. He highlighted how impressive their achievements were.
“Undertaking early college when you’re in high school, that’s a challenge,” Sullivan said. “Being the first group of people willing to go out and do so, that’s something extraordinary.”
The program began after Saugus High applied for a planning grant from the Commonwealth to launch an early-college program, securing $500,000. For the first year of the program, the school was able to fund the program through grant funding from partner North Shore Community College.
“We’re really putting an emphasis on trying to make sure that this is an opportunity that all students can access,” Sullivan said. “[We’re] really trying to make sure that every student can have this opportunity to access college while in high school, at no cost to them.”
Early College Director Jacquelyne Corbaci said the program was just the beginning of the school’s efforts to offer early-college programs, and that students would have the opportunity to take college credits throughout their whole high-school career.
“This school year was a year of trying out how we could best support students,” Corbaci said. “The ultimate goal is to have students complete 30 college credits while they’re in high school, which is one full year of college.”
Jorge Ortega is the father of 11th-graders Alejandro Ortega and Veronica Ortega.
Jorge Ortega said he was surprised the school did not have an early-college program before, and encouraged his children to take advantage of the program when it was offered.
Jorge Ortega said his message for other parents is to encourage their kids to take advantage of programs like this one, “even if they take only one class and they flunk it.”
“Taking at least one semester or two semesters of college classes changes a person significantly. It gives them another perspective in terms of their future profession and their opportunities,” Jorge Ortega said.
The students that successfully completed early-college courses are listed below:
Larissa Ambrosio
Andrea Avila
Said Baghirov
Seymura Baghirova
Brandon Barreiros
Wiktoria Biegun
Bryan Borrelli
Billy Bouley
Savannah Carreiro
Jordan Chantha
Heather Cotter
Mia Crombie
Ashley De Leon Tejada
Ketlyn De Lima
Nicolas de Oliveira
Matthew Deming Estrada
Jesse Duncan
Kayla Elivert
Janiris Haro
Sarah Leal de Oliveira
Maryemma Leblanc
Elischa Lud Louis
Mira Mauras
Gabriel Menéndez-Rosa
Keren Miranda
Sebastian Molina
Keira O’keefe
Alejandro Ortega
Veronica Ortega Pulgarin
Maya Pina
Xochilt Polanco
Olivia Richardson
Nevaeh Rogers
Jorge Santana Liranzo
Yoela Similien
Lisandra Torres Ortiz
My Tran
Annabella Tum
Kayla Villefranche
Alex Wallace
Abby Wooldridge
Jose Zuluaga
