Several area high school students are on track to earn a college degree before even receiving their high school diploma including (front row, l-r) GMG students Anthony Waters, Kaleb Gill, and Matt Deschamp. Also pictured, (back row, l-r) Alex Paxon (BCLUW), Sam Garber (BCLUW), and Jacob Damman (Baxter). CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

MARSHALLTOWN – It’s not often that a high school student will earn a college degree before receiving his/her high school diploma, but several area seniors are on track to do just that.

Earning your high school diploma may seem like a common accomplishment. The fact that such a high number of area high school students took advantage of being able to take college classes at no cost the same time as they were taking high school credits and earning their college degree or diploma is a huge accomplishment.

Through the local high schools’ partnership agreements with Marshalltown Community College, the high schools pay the tuition and fees for college classes (at a reduced rate), which amounts to a savings of more than $13,000 for each of the students earning their Associate of Arts Degree.

Area high school students that have earned their high school diploma and a degree from MCC include:

Green Mountain-Garwin (GMG) High School

Matthew Deschamp (Manufacturing Welding Practitioner Diploma); Kaleb Gill (Manufacturing Welding Practitioner Diploma) and Anthony Waters (Manufacturing Welding Practitioner Diploma).

Marshalltown Community College, located in Marshalltown, is a member of the Iowa Valley Community College District. The District is comprised of Marshalltown Community College, Ellsworth Community College, Iowa Valley Grinnell, and Business and Community Solutions. The District serves a broad range of students and businesses throughout Central Iowa. For more information, check out the website at mcc.iavalley.edu.