Coastal Carolina University student will graduate college before high school

CONWAY, S.C. (WBTW) — Most students get two graduations in their lives: high school and college.

Typically, those ceremonies are several years apart, but that’s not the case for Colin Scholl. 

Scholl is a student at the Scholars Academy, a high school within Coastal Carolina University that allows students to get college credit while they work toward their high school diploma. Many students in the program will graduate high school with one to two years of college under their belts, but Scholl took it to the next level. 

“I decided to kind of take it one step further and actually graduate here from Coastal before I graduated from high school,” he said. 

He said it was not easy. The workload was plentiful, and mapping out his four years took a lot of meticulous planning. 

“I always thought about what kind of mark am I leaving behind,” Scholl said. “So, I always try to look for different ways to be a trailblazer. I put the hard work in and I tried to maximize the information and kind of extract as much as I could from those courses.”

He said most of his free time was spent studying and working on his coursework. Scholl will graduate with a degree in Psychology with a triple minor in Asian Studies, Chinese Studies and Language and Intercultural Studies. One summer, he took five classes in six weeks. 

He said managing that kind of workload requires a sharpened time-management skill, which he also uses to find time to be a normal 18-year-old. 

“I try and keep myself grounded,” Scholl said. “I’ve been playing the cello for about six years now, so I really enjoy music and being able to play an instrument, especially with other people.”

Scholl is a planner by nature, so naturally, he has his post-grad plans all lined up. 

“I’ll be going to the University of Texas at El Paso in the Fall for my Ph.D. in Psychology with a concentration of bilingualism, language and cognition,” he said. 

He should get his Ph.D. in five years, making him a 23-year-old with a doctoral degree. After schooling, he hopes to become a professor to continue the legacy of the impactful teachers he had at CCU. 

Commencement weekend kicks off Thursday on CCU’s campus as 1,625 graduates are set to walk the stage. Provost Dan Ennis said it is not only a momentous occasion for the graduates but for the faculty and staff, too. 

“It’s a great moment that reminds us why we have a university and points us towards the future,” Ennis said. 

The big, university-wide commencement ceremony will take place at 9 a.m. Friday at Brooks Stadium on the Coastal Carolina campus.