First to understand the magnitude of my joy, it must be understood that the young man to whom we are referring here only attended the first two weeks of Kindergarten! Since those two weeks in Memphis, TN back in 1996 he has never attended a "normal" day of school with his peers! He has charted his own course, braving cold infested waters, gaping crevasses, and this week he summits the peak!!!!
It was four years ago that decisions were made regarding his J's high school education. Together we evaluated, researched, dug, working together to learn about SEOP's (Student Education Occupation Plans), extra-curricular activity requirements, concurrent enrollment, high school graduation requirements, and NCAA regulations. We learned about the New Century Scholarship available here in Utah and learned that that year there were only 8 from all of Southern Utah that qualified for that scholarship. This while a very little community on the banks of Bear Lake in Northern Utah had some 18 (I might be off on my numbers but it was more than 12!) received it that year from a graduation class of less than 25! We learned that Washington County School District had determined to simply not make concurrent classes available to students in this district because they reasoned "No one wants to go to college while they are still in High School!" Wow, were they wrong! I learned much that year, digging, prodding, passing petitions, talking to legislatures. It was a year of politicking! One day (or more) a year later I walked into the School District Office and the school superintendent saw me, and greeted me by Name! He knew me because I had raised such a stink!
Four years later, I am so grateful that together we mapped out a plan, and followed through! The plan was altered and adjusted along the way, making way for a Scuba Diving class, Engine repair, and mountain biking. However, it also included four English classes, American Civilizations, Biology, Physics, two Math classes, among the others. This Friday, May 1st, my little Jedediah will graduate! He will graduate, not from High School... but from College with an Associates Degree! He did it! Nice work little man! He did it!
He will qualify for that New Century Scholarship that we learned about four years ago which will pay 75% of his tuition for the remaining two years of his Bachelors degree anytime in the next five years, allowing him to take leave in the middle to serve the Lord as a Missionary! Yea! Nice work! I am sooo thrilled! We have been holding our breath, worried about the math class grade because it was a difficult class for J! Today we received word that he passed the class and will graduate on Friday night! I am so thankful to my Savior and Heavenly Father who have been watching, directing, orchestrating every act from above to have it work out! J. lives the Word of Wisdom, and was given a blessing the night before his Math final promising him that the word of wisdom promises understanding and hidden treasures of knowledge. That promise has truly come to pass! Thank you Heavenly help! We recognize our dependence and reliance on Thee! Thank you!!!
J. will also be graduating from LDS Seminary on the 17th of May! This means he has attended four years of seminary at the high school level, something many do, but I am grateful that his education, though different than others in every other way, includes his Spritual knowledge as well as secular!
Friday is College Graduation Day...Don't worry - I'll post pictures! :)
It was four years ago that decisions were made regarding his J's high school education. Together we evaluated, researched, dug, working together to learn about SEOP's (Student Education Occupation Plans), extra-curricular activity requirements, concurrent enrollment, high school graduation requirements, and NCAA regulations. We learned about the New Century Scholarship available here in Utah and learned that that year there were only 8 from all of Southern Utah that qualified for that scholarship. This while a very little community on the banks of Bear Lake in Northern Utah had some 18 (I might be off on my numbers but it was more than 12!) received it that year from a graduation class of less than 25! We learned that Washington County School District had determined to simply not make concurrent classes available to students in this district because they reasoned "No one wants to go to college while they are still in High School!" Wow, were they wrong! I learned much that year, digging, prodding, passing petitions, talking to legislatures. It was a year of politicking! One day (or more) a year later I walked into the School District Office and the school superintendent saw me, and greeted me by Name! He knew me because I had raised such a stink!
Four years later, I am so grateful that together we mapped out a plan, and followed through! The plan was altered and adjusted along the way, making way for a Scuba Diving class, Engine repair, and mountain biking. However, it also included four English classes, American Civilizations, Biology, Physics, two Math classes, among the others. This Friday, May 1st, my little Jedediah will graduate! He will graduate, not from High School... but from College with an Associates Degree! He did it! Nice work little man! He did it!
He will qualify for that New Century Scholarship that we learned about four years ago which will pay 75% of his tuition for the remaining two years of his Bachelors degree anytime in the next five years, allowing him to take leave in the middle to serve the Lord as a Missionary! Yea! Nice work! I am sooo thrilled! We have been holding our breath, worried about the math class grade because it was a difficult class for J! Today we received word that he passed the class and will graduate on Friday night! I am so thankful to my Savior and Heavenly Father who have been watching, directing, orchestrating every act from above to have it work out! J. lives the Word of Wisdom, and was given a blessing the night before his Math final promising him that the word of wisdom promises understanding and hidden treasures of knowledge. That promise has truly come to pass! Thank you Heavenly help! We recognize our dependence and reliance on Thee! Thank you!!!
J. will also be graduating from LDS Seminary on the 17th of May! This means he has attended four years of seminary at the high school level, something many do, but I am grateful that his education, though different than others in every other way, includes his Spritual knowledge as well as secular!
Friday is College Graduation Day...Don't worry - I'll post pictures! :)