KILLEEN, TX (December 12, 2022)—Focused, determined, and extremely busy. Those are the words to describe Copperas Cove High School senior Andrea Steller who walked the Central Texas College stage last Friday night to receive her Associates Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies. Steller has earned her college degree in December but will not earn her high school diploma until May 2023.
Steller said it was a grueling journey that required her attention and eliminated any free time that she might have had as a busy high school student that also serves in a variety of extracurricular activities.
“I wasn’t able to socialize or hang out with friends often because I was so busy with my college classes while still maintaining my position as the CCHS Theatre’s stage manager and maintaining the quality of my artwork for my Art 3 Drawing class. I didn’t even get the holidays the high school gives. It was a constant push from the start to the end of every semester.”
Steller enrolled during her sophomore year in her first University of Texas On-Ramps courses at Cove High which simultaneously allowed her to earn but high school and college credit in Algebra, Chemistry 1, and Arts and Entertainment Technologies.
“Towards the end of my sophomore year, I found out that I could get my associates (degree) along with my diploma,” Steller said. “Looking for a challenge, I filled my junior year with as many college classes as I was allowed. I was originally going to spread out my last four classes along my senior year and take is easy after the stress I had gone through my junior year. However, at the end of my junior year, I felt a surge of confidence and decided to do the last four classes in one semester.
“My junior year was definitely the most difficult. I was taking nineteen credit hours per semester while planning for the NAHS, stage managing four shows for the theatre, along with volunteering and participating in other events. There were many long nights and weekends lost, but in the end, it was worth the sacrifice.”
Steller chose to earn her degree in Interdisciplinary Studies because it allowed her to complete the foundation for a higher degree and focus on her major when earning a bachelor’s degree.
This degree plan also ensured she would complete all the classes required to earn her high school diploma.
“Out of the 20 dual credit classes I took, seven of them were eight-week classes – the normal length being 15 weeks,” Stellar said. “For any else who wants to pursue a similar goal, do it. It’s going to be hard and there may be times you want to give up but push through those lows. Just because they are college classes does not mean you can’t do it. Just put your mind to it and take it seriously.”
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