Thirty-five students from Beaufort County Early College High School trekked across the stage Friday at the school’s graduation ceremony.

The ceremony was held in Beaufort County Community College’s Building 10.

“They have worked extremely hard over the last five years in their high school and college classes,” Principal Emily Pake said. “It is always so rewarding to see the students complete the program. I am so proud of all them.”

Early College High School operates on a five-year program during which students earn a high school diploma and take college courses to earn an associate degree from BCCC.

Pake said 28 of this year’s 35 graduates earned an associate degree.

One of those graduates was 17-year-old Deborah Gardner, who exceeded expectations and graduated from the school within four years. She earned an associate in arts degree and is set to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill this fall to study journalism.

Gardner said she is the second-youngest sibling in her family.

“When I first heard about the program, I was very interested because, you know, a lot of my older siblings had already started college,” she said. “In a family of eight, money is hard to come by.”

Gardner said the opportunity to jumpstart her college career at no cost is what prompted her to apply to the early college, and looking back, she has no regrets.

“I feel like going to a traditional high school, some courses are going to be hard … but some courses are pretty easy, and every course I went to (at BCECHS) was hard,” she explained. “I feel like the workload helped me prepare.”

Choosing the heavier workload will benefit her come the fall, she said.

For Gardner, the time spent at the Early College High School has been invaluable and is something she wouldn’t change.

“All of the teachers I had at the college were amazing and really helped me out,” Gardner said. “They were hard classes, but the teachers helped us get through them.”

For more information about the Early College High School program, visit www.beaufort.k12.nc.us/Page/13.