San Antonio – For this week’s Great Grad, we are highlighting an ambitious high school student who earned her associate degree before her high school diploma.
“The work is hard and it’s rigorous, but we have a lot of support here,” said Trinity Adams, a student at St. Philip’s College Early College High School.
Adams recently finished her associate degree and next month she will be graduating from St. Philip’s College Early College High School.
“I’ve been accepted into Wesleyan University in Connecticut with a full-ride package,” Adams said.
Adams said her educational experience, volunteer work, and essay helped her get into the university.
“My essay was about the struggles that I went through growing up, basically through elementary school. My family had a really rough patch during that time, and it was really about how using that, I realized that when I go to school, nobody really knows what’s going on when I’m not there. So I linked that in to not judging people by what they look like, because you never know what’s really going on in their lives,” Adams said.
The program helps lead students to high-wage and high-demand careers.
“This program literally changes the trajectory of students’ lives. Some of our students in this area are part of the lowest socioeconomic in our community. And for our community to have this opportunity means that that does not have to be their future,” said Ashlyn Barrientes, Principal at St. Philip’s College Early College High School.
Adams wants to study computer science or mathematics.
She is thankful for this experience and her support system.
“I think what’s really kept me going is my mother. She’s always been there to support me. My whole family, even. But I have a lot of support coming from all around me,” Adam said.