When Hailey Contreras walks across the stage this graduation season, she’ll be marking not one achievement, but two: finishing high school and college at the same time.
The 17-year-old has taken a total of 87 college units and will collect three associate’s degrees from Victor Valley College and one from Chaffey, where she will accomplish yet another feat as the youngest class speaker to date.
Contreras’s impressive track record doesn’t stop there. She is also captain of the Hesperia High School cross-country team, vice president of the soccer club and a varsity track runner, among other involvements. When asked where she found the time, Contreras admitted that it was difficult to balance her rigorous academic schedule with sports, but was able to do so because she’s “a tough cookie.”
Throughout it all, the athlete-scholar maintained a 4.5 GPA, holds the senior class president title and is ranked 3rd in her class of about 500 seniors.
Contreras’ achievement, which was also featured on a live NBC4 segment, highlights a growing trend among ambitious students who are graduating early, saving money on college and fast-tracking their futures while still in their teens.
How to become a high school — college dual graduate
Contreras broke down the schedule of what it takes for someone to be named a high school valedictorian and a soon-to-be college graduate in the same year.
She wakes up around 6 a.m. every day before heading to school from 7 to 3 p.m. From 3 to 5 p.m., Contreras has practice for whatever sport is in season. Before her 6:30 p.m. club practice, Contreras sneaks in about an hour of homework. By 8 p.m., she’s back at home in Adelanto to refuel with dinner before studying and homework until 11:30.
Weekends face a similar schedule. Like most who attend college, Contreras uses coffee as a crutch to study late into the night. For now, sleeping in is far on the back burner. There is simply too much that needs to be done.
“My biggest aid is my calendar,” Contreras said of her jam-packed schedule. “It doesn’t allow me to procrastinate.” Time management is key to such a successful academic career so early on, she said.
A bright future ahead
Contreras’ grandmother worked in a law firm in Panama and inspired her granddaughter to obtain an internship at Carrie C. Justice’s law firm in Victorville, which eventually sealed the teen’s desire to practice law.
The star student has been accepted to her first choice college: the University of California, Berkeley, where she will major in pre-law. Her sights are set on obtaining the best possible grades at Berkeley for acceptance to Yale Law School following her bachelor’s degree.
McKenna is a reporter for the Daily Press. She can be reached at mmobley@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Hesperia senior graduating from high school and college at same time
Reporting by McKenna Mobley, Victorville Daily Press / Victorville Daily Press
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