During high school I was blessed with the opportunity to take numerous dual credit classes starting my junior year. I took advantage of every opportunity offered through the high school as well as taking summer classes. I mean why not? High schoolers aren’t busy (as much as we like to think we were), taking classes through the junior college is wayyy cheaper than the university, and you live at home! Anyways, I ended up starting A&M with 27 hours, which basically covered the majority of my basics. So my first semester at A&M I was able to dive right into business classes which sparked my interest a little more than the thought of sitting through basic English and History classes.

In the back of my mind I knew I would graduate college a semester early and possibly a year early. The farther I got in the more apparent it was that I would in fact be graduating a year early. Most people told me to ride out college for four years, enjoy it while you can, get a masters, the real world is tough, yada, yada….and all that may be true, but for me personally it wasn’t that I was in a rush to get out it was just the way everything worked out. I came in with a year worth of classes and took a normal full load each semester, so mathematically I would complete college in 3 years….there was no special trick to it.

So here I am wrapping up my last year of college and I could not be more excited. This excitement has overshadowed the fear of entering the “real world” and helped me transition my mindset from college to building my career. I may not know exactly what I’ll be doing in a few months and truth is, it most likely won’t be what I’ll do my entire life, but I know I will have a Marketing degree from one of the best business schools in nation, a drive to use it effectively, and a toolbox full of tools to be a valuable asset to my next employer.

So yes, on paper I got a degree in three years, but technically I’ve been attending college for five. (starting in highschool!)