Some North Texas high school seniors graduating this year are walking away with not one diploma, but two.
On Wednesday morning, Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker celebrated a group of Early College High School graduates.
Not only are they graduating with their high school diplomas, but they're also graduating with associates degrees and certifications, making them ready to join the workforce right away.
"These are open-enrollment high schools," said Mayor Parker, "and they're really recognizing these students who are going to go through high school and earn a college degree from Tarrant County College while they are in high school."
Jordan Smithee graduated from James M. Steele Early College High School with an associates degree and seven certifications in cosmetology.
She says that will come in handy as she studies art history in college.
"I didn't want to work just at a restaurant or a supermarket and during college, I wanted to have a good, high-paying job, so I wouldn't have to have student loans," Smithee told Mayor Parker during a panel discussion at Wednesday's celebration.
Brandon Irving graduated from Crowley Collegiate Academy and wants to become a supply chain director in seven years.
"I just love the supply chain career path as a whole," Irving said. "I love the operational aspect of everything that's involved with being a supply chain manager."
Thanks to Early College High School, he will get to start that career much sooner.
"I'm going to be involved in an accelerated course at Texas Wesleyan University," Irving said. "I'm going to come out with my Bachelor's Degree in a year."
Studies show that Early College High School graduates are three times more likely to earn a college degree than their counterparts.
Jose Almaguer will be majoring in business at UNT after graduating from the Collegiate Academy at O.D. Wyatt High School.
He credits his algebra teacher for steering him towards Early College High School.
"She pushed me to sign up for Early College High School and (she told me), you know, 'I believe you could do it,'" Almaguer said. "And now that I'm here, I graduated with my Associates Degree. I'm very happy she pushed me."
Melanie Bisisi, who's originally from Africa, not only graduated from Everman Collegiate High School, but also from Tarrant County College with an emphasis in STEM.
"I've never seen any Black woman or any woman especially (working in) engineering, and I didn't like that," Bisisi said. "My dream is to work for NASA and show all the refugee immigrants that are from Africa or anywhere that everything is possible. You know, you can become wherever you want."
All students in attendance at the ceremony at the Bob Bolen Public Safety Complex were surprised with a Meta Quest 2 virtual reality headset from the event's sponsor, Fort Worth Education Partnership.
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