Throughout high school, Chelsea Crumbley participated in a variety of activities – track and field, cheerleading, and student government – but it was her involvement with the dual enrollment program at Albany State University (ASU) that helped to launch her academic success.

In May, Crumbley graduated a year early from Mitchell County High School in Camilla, Georgia with a high school diploma, but that is not all she celebrated. Because of the dual enrollment program, she also celebrated her first college graduation when she received a 2-year degree from Albany State.

The dual enrollment program at ASU allows high school students to enroll at the institution and earn credits toward high school and college graduation requirements.

 “My high school is big on completing college courses,” Mitchell said. “They motivated us to do the dual enrollment program. I started early.”

Crumbley began the dual enrollment program in 9^th grade by enrolling at Southern Regional Technical College. She eventually enrolled at ASU and began attending classes on campus with the rest of the members of her high school cohort, many of them close friends who started and finished the program together. 

“It was fun and exciting being on campus. We experienced a lot of stuff together,” she said. We got a chance to experience college together before we all actually left home for college for real.”

Students who participate in the program can save both time and money with flexible scheduling opportunities and covered tuition and expenses. In the fall, Crumbley will head to Georgia Southern to complete her last two years of college before receiving a bachelor’s degree. She plans to major in biology and pursue her dream of becoming a veterinarian.

“My first time being on a college campus was hard. I didn’t know how the professors would be, and I struggled at first,” she said.

She eventually settled in and excelled. Psychology and sociology became her favorite courses. Balancing her academic coursework while still participating in extracurricular activities at her high school was challenging, Crumbley said, but well worth it. She made sure to prioritize what was most important, her academics.

“It was hard and stressful, but you have to know how to balance it. You have to find what’s most important and go from there,” she said. “I knew that my work was more important, so that was my top priority. If I couldn’t participate in a game, or I couldn’t make it because of something that happened with my school work, I just wouldn’t go. I knew that I wanted to graduate. If it didn’t fall in line with my classes, I didn’t do it.”

She often took advantage of planning ahead. As a cheerleader, she made sure to review the game schedule and made time for completing her assignments.

“If I had homework and I game, I would try to do the work early. Every little chance I got, I would try to study,” she said.