Sandor Stone is the first dual credit student who will graduate from the Lone Star College-Kingwood Fire Academy on May 14.
HOUSTON (May 12, 2022) – Traditionally, high school graduates are the primary demographics entering higher education.
However, many colleges and universities offer a variety of programming for high school students interested in jump-starting their college careers. The Lone Star College-Kingwood Dual Credit program allows ninth-12th grade students to earn high school and college credit simultaneously.
“The dual credit program allows students to complete a college workforce certificate, become core complete or complete an associate degree while balancing their high school commitments, said Kellie Sullivan, academic partnerships and initiatives director at LSC-Kingwood. “They can earn college and high school credit at their home campus, at the college, or online.”
For example, Sandor Stone, the first dual credit student in the LSC-Kingwood Fire Academy, was also involved in the Agriculture Science Program (AG) and ROTC at Atascocita High School.
“I fully support the dual credit program, but those who participate must understand that this is a huge time commitment with a lot of hard work and late nights. They need to have the maturity and the responsibility to handle it,” he said. “There were several nights between the fire academy and caring for my AG animals that I only had four to five hours of sleep.”
Sandor’s parents are both first responders, which motivated him to join the college’s fire academy and the ROTC. He believes his experiences in both will help him in his military career. In AG, Sandor raised pigs, chickens (earned reserve grand and grand champion prizes), turkeys, and steers (placed third overall). He also assisted with lambs and won awards with his BBQ cook-off team.
“The Fire Science Academy provides dual credit students with workforce skills and certificates, which leads to a high-paying career. It teaches them the discipline and commitment needed to accomplish their goals,” said David Teverbaugh, fire science program director at LSC-Kingwood. “In the program, Sandor was overcommitted. I was worried that he wouldn’t make it and sought ways to help lighten his load. Sandor did not want to give up anything. He got up early for the AG program, went to high school, attended his ROTC drills, and participated in the fire academy in the evening four days a week. That’s commitment!”
Sandor’s hard work and dedication paid off. He will graduate with an LSC-Kingwood Fire Academy certification on May 14 and a high school diploma from Atascocita High School on May 28. Sandor will use his fire certification and ROTC experience to join the United States Navy.
For more information on the Lone Star College Dual Credit program, visit www.lonestar.edu/college-departments/dualcredit/index.htm.
Register now for credit classes online through myLoneStar. Classes are offered days, evenings, or weekends in traditional, online, and hybrid formats. For more information or to register online, visit www.lonestar.edu/registration. For general information about Lone Star College-Kingwood, call 281.312.1600 or visit www.lonestar.edu/kingwood.
Lone Star College enrolls over 80,000 students each semester providing high-quality, low-cost academic transfer and career training education. LSC is training tomorrow’s workforce today and redefining the community college experience to support student success. Stephen C. Head, Ph.D., serves as chancellor of LSC, the largest institution of higher education in the Houston area and has been named a 2021 Great Colleges to Work For® institution by the Chronicle of Higher Education and ranked 35th in Texas in the Forbes ‘America’s Best Employers By State’ list. LSC consists of eight colleges, seven centers, eight Workforce Centers of Excellence and Lone Star Corporate College. To learn more, visit LoneStar.edu.
###