Four students in the area were able to earn not only their high school diploma but also an associates degree from Marshalltown Community College this spring.

“Starting as a freshman, I took one college class, a dual credit class here at the high school,” said Marshalltown High School senior Jane Ragland. “Since then, I’ve been taking them every year and then this year, at the start of the year, I realized I had enough credits to graduate if I took online classes.”

She and fellow Marshalltown senior Brenna Porsch will get their associates degree from MCC.

“I moved here about two years ago, so I didn’t have the luxury of starting when I was a freshman. I kind of packed it all into the past two years,” Porsch said. “I mostly go to the college campus and online.”

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO - East Marshall’s Juliana Arifi will also be receiving her associates degree along with her high school diploma this spring.

Just down Highway 30, East Marshall High School senior Juliana Arifi said she began her dual-credit journey as a sophomore.

“I took some summer classes between sophomore and junior years, and between junior and senior years,” she said.

Arifi also took classes during the regular school year. Though she is proud of her accomplishment, she said it was a lot of work to achieve.

“It added a lot of stress because I was taking a full high school course load while also being a full-time college student,” she said. “It’s a lot of doing homework on the way to sporting events.”

Further to the east, South Tama County High School senior Larry Werner took advantage of the Marshalltown Community College welding program. Like the other students, he said he had to put in a lot of work to get both a high school diploma and a college degree.

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO - South Tama County High School senior Larry Werner is getting into a welding career after his hard work at Marshalltown Community College over the last two years.

“I’ve been doing it for two years now, I started my first semester of my junior year,” he said. “The teachers up there helped me a lot with it.”

He said his coursework included taking night classes. That meant he had many extra hours of learning to focus on, plus the regular travel from the Tama area to Marshalltown Community College.

“Some nights I was there till 9 o’clock,” Werner said.

All four students encouraged their younger peers to take dual-credit classes and pursue a college degree while in high school. They said hard work, focus and time management are key skills to develop.

“Stay focused, and get your work in on time,” Werner said. Always have a plan for what you’re going to do.”

Ragland said starting dual-credit classes as a freshman is a big step up.

“The Project Lead the Way classes are a fun way to do that,” she said.

Despite the daunting nature of taking on both high school and college coursework, Arifi said students who are interested should dive right in.

“Don’t be afraid to take classes at the college,” she said. “You meet a lot of fun people and you get a lot out of it.”

Dual-credit courses are provided because of partnerships between local schools and Marshalltown Community College. They offer students a chance to earn credit toward both high school and college graduation.

The cost of the college classes are paid by high schools, so students get free college classes prior to enrolling at a higher education institution.