Highlighting Our Dual Enrollment Students

Dual-enrolled students at Arlington Career Center (ACC), part of Arlington Public Schools, competed at the annual National Leadership and Skills Conference and SkillsUSA Championships in Atlanta, this past summer. Taught by instructor Tom O’Day, these students were enrolled in PHT-130 and PHT-131 at their high schoo. The event was a great success for the ACC students, who competed in a variety of video production events. Winners from the competition included Lina Barclay, Ellie Nix, Scotten Maderal, Evan Holt, Rand McAvoy, Antonio Abela, Esther Schneider and Natalie Walker.

Ellie Nix, one of the first-place gold-medal winners, graduated high school in June 2022 with her Associate of Arts, which she earned through a combination of contract and independent DE courses taken through NOVA.

“SkillsUSA and my PHT class taught me workplace skills and applicable experience rather than the theory I would typically learn in my other classes,” Nix said. “The CTE-style of class set me up to go right into the workplace after graduation if I choose to do so. The dual enrollment curriculum set me apart from other students while applying to college.”

Ellie is now a student at the University of Texas at Austin and could graduate early due to the credits she earned through dual enrollment at NOVA. Ellie also commented, “I am so grateful for the time and money the dual enrollment program saved me.”

To learn more about our DE student accomplishments at this event, you can read the SkillsUSA National Winners 202-Press Release.

Submitted by:
Kristen Carter, Assoc. Director of Dual Enrollment, KCarter@nvcc.edu