Sydney Green is a junior on the path to graduating a complete year early. There are many great things that come out of deciding to graduate high school as a junior instead of a senior.

Sydney did not even realize that graduating early was a possibility before she met with her guidance counselor for her junior conference. “When I met with my guidance counselor last year to schedule, I noticed that I had earned many more credits that I thought. I realized that if I took a few extra classes, I would have enough to meet the graduation requirements as a junior. After many meetings with Mrs. Hager, and even one in the summer, we came up with a plan for me to graduate early.” said Sydney

Sydney looked at graduating early as a goal she wanted to work hard to accomplish. “Looking back on the past I realized that I have not pushed myself as hard as I wanted to, and I thought this would be a great opportunity to do so. I was determined to work as hard as I could to make it happen,” explained Sydney.

Even though Sydney was set on graduating high school a complete year early, the toughest part of the decision was convincing her parents. It would be hard for any parent to allow their child to “leave the nest” earlier than expected.. Her mom did not like the idea at all when Sydney first brought it up. “When I mentioned the idea of graduating early to my parents, my mom was strongly opposed. She wanted me to learn everything I possibly could before I leave high school, so I wouldn’t have as much trouble in college. Also, since I am one of the youngest students in the junior class, she was not too fond of the idea of me starting college at the age of sixteen,” said Sydney

Sydney’s dad seemed to understand her mindset along with her work ethic a little more than her mom did.  “My dad thought it would be a good idea to get a headstart on my career. He had faith that I would excel, since my grades had been on the higher side of what was expected. It took a lot of convincing to prove to my mom that I have the determination to challenge myself and end my high school experience a year early,” said Sydney.

Both of Sydney’s older sisters are latrobe alumni and graduated with the rest of their class. Her oldest sister, Hannah, is a senior at Virginia Tech and runs both on the cross country and track team. Then Halle, the middle child, goes to Catholic University of America where she plays soccer. Sydney would be the only one out of both of her sisters to accomplish such a thing.

Sydney would need a lot of determination. Past graduates who decided to graduate early never had a study hall or had the necessary credits through other means. Sydney was not in the same situation. She had to prepare herself to work two times harder than the average junior to reach the end goal of walking across that stage a complete year early. Her schedule consists of three AP classes without a study hall, with two online classes on top of it all. She manages this rigorous school schedule while working and running cross country.

As for plans after high school, she already has it all figured out. “Upon graduating high school I am going to attend Saint Vincent College and major in Engineering Science. My original plan was to take a year off and complete an internship to gain experience in the work field, but I decided I would rather get a headstart in my career. After attending an overnight visit with the girls Cross Country team at SVC, I found that I would love to run on the team. Initially, I wanted to stay at home and commute to save money, but after staying in the dorms with the team, I decided to stay on campus because I believe it will definitely be worth the extra cost,” explained Sydney.

With her evident work ethic, it is amazing all the things Sydney will be able to accomplish in one year.  She is not only getting a jumpstart on her career, but proving anyone who doubted her to be wrong.