While most students at our school are walking to second block, senior Glorious Njoroge has to get into her car to go to her next class. Njoroge is one of fourteen students that goes to Blue Ridge Community College (BRCC) to take classes towards her college degree.

“My classes at BRCC are different than at the high school because the teachers are a lot less strict, and there are more freedoms for the students,” Njoroge said.

The Blue Ridge Scholars Program is designed to allow juniors and seniors to earn an Associates Degree from BRCC while attending HHS. Some of the classes are taught at HHS, while others require students to travel to Weyers Cave. Upon acceptance into the program, a student must pass the Virginia Placement Test in the designated course. At the time of successful completion, a Blue Ridge Early College Scholar student will have earned 61 hours of college credit. These students pay a reduced rate for the college classes, and financial assistance is available for eligible students.

Njoroge is taking English 243, Psychology 230, Sociology 215, Political Science 135 and Biology 102.

“I have a planner to keep myself organized, and its color-coded for each class,” Njoroge said. “My planner is the only reason that I am successful with school and extracurriculars.”

She is also on the HHS Colorguard team and leaves from BRCC to attend practices daily.

“Time management is key, and you will have to make some social sacrifices if you want to succeed,” Njoroge said.

She estimates that she spends five hours a night on homework for all of her college classes.

“My favorite class is Psychology, because the teacher makes the class easy and it’s interesting to learn how humans develop from childhood to adulthood,” Njoroge said.

Her advice to all students about college is: “Make sure that you are ready for the workload because it is a lot, and do not procrastinate because your work will pile up.”