First student to graduate through Early College Program joins morning show

TOPEKA (KSNT)- As of this Saturday, Topeka Public Schools will be celebrating its first student to graduate through their Early College program with Washburn University.

The Early College Program allows students to start working on their college degrees while they are still in high school, so they can get ahead of the game and start on an accelerated path.

“I just don’t believe that students should have to pay for private school, ” Superintendent Dr. Tiffany Anderson said. “I think that public schools can create this special, college-accelerated learning environment. “

T’Ahjanae Ray will be the first to graduate through the program and additionally will be the first in her family to graduate from college. She started the program in seventh grade, two years in advance of other students.

“These students take their ACT in 9th grade, they get 30-60 college hours,” Dr. Anderson said. “Or, when they become a sophomore, they can apply for admission into Washburn University.”

Ray will be graduating with a degree in Psychology.

“I am feeling amazing,” Ray said. “I am so excited for graduation. Both graduations are in one day, and it’s like ‘oh my gosh, this is actually happening, I really did this.'”

Her answer was simple when asked what she would say to other students wanting to get involved in the program.

“I would tell the kids to advocate for themselves,” Ray said. “Because no one else is going to advocate for you. You have to push and say ‘Hey, I am capable, I know I can do this and let me talk to the people to put me in the situation to do it.'”

Dr. Anderson chimed in and said prior to the interview, she asked Ray how her life would have been different if she hadn’t joined the program. Ray said she would have been on a completely different path than the one she’s on now.

“I was actually going to join a legal studies program, “Ray said. “But going to Washburn allowed me to have a wider lens of what I could do and I ended up learning about psychology and learning that that is my passion.”

She emphasized that if she had not joined the program, she would not know how to advocate for herself and her future. Additionally, she touted the many opportunities presented to her since joining the program.

As well as speaking on the Early College Program, Dr. Anderson spoke about Teacher Appreciation Week, Graduation times and dates and initiatives to help Ukrainian families with affordable housing.

For more information on those topics, you can watch the full interview above.