By By JAMES COLLINS / Niles Daily Star
NILES -- Through a direct college credit program at Niles High School, recent graduate Courtney Miller will have a leg up on her fellow college freshmen.
With a college minor in digital multimedia under her belt, she has shaved off a year of classes and tuition and made her road to college graduation a little easier.
By taking classes at Andrews University and equivalent courses offered by Niles High School graphic arts teacher Lew Carrington, Miller was able to meet all of the requirements for a minor at Andrews University's College of Technology. She is the first student to ever do this at Niles High School.
Carrington, who taught at Andrews for 15 years and is now an adjunct professor at the university, developed a curriculum that duplicated the content of the courses at Andrews.
It took Miller all four years of high school to earn the 22 credits necessary for the minor and it was not until her junior year that she realized the minor was a very realistic possibility.
To receive college credit for the classes, which include multimedia productions, web and graphics publishing and digital imaging, the students must receive a "B" or higher and turn in a portfolio for each class.
The classes offered through Carrington's direct credit program are completely free to students, with the only charge involved being a $200 fee to have the credits transferred to the student's school of choice.
For Miller, that will be Western Michigan University, where she plans to to enroll in the school of education and study art and imaging. She ultimately would like to pursue a career combining her knowledge of computers and technology with her desire to be a teacher.
Miller, daughter of Jerry Miller (stepmother Tammy Miller) and Brenda Hough (stepfather David Hough), said this has been a valuable experience.
Hough was very appreciative of the support offered by Carrington throughout Miller's time in the program and agreed this was a great experience for her daughter.
The experience of being the only high school student in a class full of college students also taught her what is expected of her in college level courses.
As a member of the high school golf team and an employee of the month at Applebee's, juggling high school and college homework was not an easy task.
Though Miller is the first to receive a college minor through Carrington's program, he does not expect her to be the last.
And with six to 10 students expected to be working on their minors next year, the program is already beginning to snowball.