Early College Academy Celebrates 2023 Graduates | Butler Community College

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Early College Academy Celebrates 2023 Graduates

Early College Academy Class of 2023
Published: Thursday, May 11th, 2023

Eighty-four students earned college credentials at Butler while still attending high school.

On Saturday, May 6, Butler Community College held its annual Early College Academy graduation, honoring 84 current high school students who completed the rigorous course of study.  A total of sixty-nine students earned their full associate degrees, while 11 received certificates and four were recognized for having completed the program. “The Early College Academy began as a partnership between Butler and Rose Hill High School in 2010 with an initial seven students,” Butler Trustee Mary Martha Good said. “Thirteen years later, we celebrate as eighty-four of you graduate from the program.  You are an exceptional group of students in that you exist successfully in two distinct worlds at the same time.” Through the Early College Academy (ECA), Butler partners with local high schools to offer current high school students the chance to take college courses at one of several Butler campuses or online. “These accomplishments are going to launch you on an educational career and place you in a position that not very many other Kansas high school graduates can say that they’ve done,” Butler President Dr. Kim Krull said to the graduates. “You have reached a huge milestone and set yourselves up for success.” According to Krull, by attending the ECA students collectively saved over $1.3 million in educational costs while also earning nearly $1.8 million in future scholarship money. Harrison Hatridge, an Andover eCademy graduate who completed the Academy’s Game & Sim Design pathway, spoke at the ceremony and said that “going through the Early College Academy there were a lot of tough times, so this is a really exciting moment to finally be here and get to celebrate this moment with friends and family.” Delanie Hall, an Andover High School student who completed the Health Sciences pathway, shared that “Memories were created and shared during our time together. I hope that each and every one of you can look back and be proud of what you accomplished.  It was no easy task, but you embraced the challenge and buckled down.” View the full list of graduates here. You can also watch the full ceremony on the BCTV 20 YouTube channel.