Dual Enrolled Student to Graduate from High School and College in May 2017

March 22, 2017

Jose Carlos Macias is graduating with a 3.9 GPA from Yuma Catholic High School (YCHS) and receiving his Associates in Arts degree from Arizona Western College (AWC) at the same time.  Macias was also named the Yuma Catholic High School 2017 Graduation Speaker.  Jose took advantage of the dual enrollment partnership offered by AWC and YCHS to help accomplish this goal.

Jose Macias said “Yuma Catholic and AWC made it easy for me to take many of the classes at Yuma Catholic, during my regular school day.  I live in San Luis, Arizona, so having dual credit classes at Yuma Catholic will allow me to finish my AA, by the time I graduate from Yuma Catholic, in May of 2017.”

Rhett Stallworth, Principal at Yuma Catholic High School, said that “Jose Macias is a diligent young man.  He is a student who uses his time wisely and takes advantage of all opportunities.  He is a first generation college student who values his education.  Jose was able to complete 23 general education credits without ever leaving Yuma Catholic or extending his school day.  The other courses he took at AWC during the summer.  This student really knew how to maximize his time in order to achieve his goal of earning his AA and graduate from high school within the same month.” 

Attending AWC during high school proved to be difficult at times for Jose. “As soon as I began taking different exams and quizzes for my AWC courses, I knew I was going to be challenged. I persevered, knowing that all of the hard extra work would pay off in long run” said Jose. “By taking these classes, I gained responsibility, learned how to work efficiently, and advanced in my studies.”  Next year, Jose looks forward to pursuing an engineering degree in Robotics as a junior. 

“Our relationship with AWC, providing general education dual enrollment and concurrent courses on our campus during the school day, has provided our students to earn college credit, while saving their parents up to $28,000 in college tuition at one of the in-state universities.” said Mr. Stallworth.

Alison McLallen Morgan
Media Relations Director
Arizona Western College
(928) 314-9594
alison.howell@azwestern.edu