HAMPTON, Va. — It is graduation season for college and high school students. Three Phoebus High School students, though, are both.
“It’s a blessing. It’s an honor," Phoebus High School senior Dante James said about graduating with a college degree before graduating high school.
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James, Robert Staton III, and Xavier Misse are all graduating with from Phoebus High with GPAs well over 4.0. But before they get their high school diplomas, they’re walking across the stage to receive associate’s degrees from Virginia Peninsula Community College.
“It’s a lot of work, it’s a lot of perseverance you have to go through to get there. But I think it’s worth it, though," said James.
“We just threw ourselves into it and let God do the rest," Staton III said.
“We knew the opportunities that would present itself if we follow through with the curriculum of the ACE Academy, so we pushed through and we wanted to get the benefits out of it," said Misse.
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The ACE Academy is one of 16 academies Hampton City Schools offers to high schoolers for free to help them get a head start on college, the workforce, or the military. Each academy has a different focus.
In the ACE Academy, students have the option to earn an associate of science or associate of social science degree.
Academy principal Lindsay Jackson called it a tool for students.
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“This gives them an opportunity to leave high school and stand [out] from their peers," said Jackson.
That opportunity is one Phoebus High principal David Coccoli said seems to be resonating with students.
“We are on a wait list. We have grown significantly over the past few years," Coccoli explained.
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James plans to go to VCU and major in pharmaceutical sciences with a goal of opening the first Black-owned major pharmaceutical company in America. Staton III also plans to go to VCU and go into medicine. His goal is to major in pre-nursing and eventually become a travel nurse.
Misse plans to go to LSU and study computer science and computer engineering and work for what he calls "high-tech firms."
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The three young men said their advise for younger students is to keep going, don’t let distractions get in your way, and surround yourself with the right people.
“The right people are going to push you to get through it. The right people are going to help you when you need that push to get through the struggles," James said.
Advice that may help push future students to success.
