EATON — Bailey Wright, a current junior at Eaton High School, graduated from Edison State Community College with her Associate of Arts degree over summer break.
Wright will be continuing her path of higher education at Franklin University, where she is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Communications. She has been able to achieve this through the College Credit Plus (CCP) program offered by Eaton High School. The CCP program offers students the opportunity to get a head start on their college workload, or even graduate ahead of time.
The spring of Wright’s 8th grade year, she took the Accuplacer test at Edison State. The following summer, she took the ACT and her qualifying test scores gave her the ability to enroll at Edison State the fall of her freshman year.
By the end of her freshman year, she had completed a total of 18 credit hours and she completed a total of 32 credit hours her sophomore year. The summer semester before starting her junior year, she took 12 credit hours with Edison State, and transferred to Franklin University where she took one class during the summer in addition to Edison’s.
Wright attributes her success thus far to her family, her Edison State advisor Jenna Winger, Eaton Community Schools, and the College Credit Plus program. She also recognizes the effects Covid-19 had on her academic career.
“With Covid-19 hitting during my 8th grade year, it really opened up the opportunity for me to focus on my online college courses. Since Eaton provided the option of online school during my freshman year, I chose to stay home,” Wright said. “This gave me more time to work on my CCP courses. I am really thankful that the Eaton High School teachers were so accommodating to the students that were at home, even though it took a lot more effort for them. Without Covid-19 happening, I don’t think I would have been able to accomplish what I did.”
Wright believes the CCP program is a fantastic opportunity more students should take advantage of.
“I really hope that more people can get involved with the College Credit Plus program,” she said. “I think that it is an amazing opportunity, and it has given me such a good head start on my future. I really love that I get to do all of my classes online, but in-person classes are offered too. CCP doesn’t just cater to one kind of student, and I believe that a lot more people would discover that they enjoy taking the courses.”
After graduating from Franklin University in 2024, as well as with the Eaton High School class of 2024, Wright anticipates continuing her education in law school.
