Campus News
May 18th, 2024
Newman makes up for lost time
Southern Garrett High senior just earned Garrett College degree
Allie Newman, a Southern Garrett High School senior, graduated Saturday from Garrett College.
Allie Newman was a bored underachiever.
Or at least she felt that way.
It was the height of COVID – businesses were locked down, schools were closed, and online learning was still clunky at best. Newman was a freshman at Southern Garrett High School and she – like so many people – was feeling a bit lost.
"My freshman year [2020-21] was full lockdown," recalled Newman, who took honors classes as a middle-school student. "It was really bad. I had no motivation to get anything done. And the first semester of my 10th-grade year wasn't much better."
And then, according to Newman, "something switched in my brain. I saw how bad I'd been doing. I wanted to actually push myself to get something done, and I wanted to join extra-curricular activities."
She's been making up for lost time ever since.
Newman, just 17, graduated Saturday morning from Garrett College with an Associate of Arts degree in General Studies. She's been accepted at West Virginia University, with a plan to complete her bachelor's degree and law degree by the time she's 22.
"I started taking classes through Dual Enrollment the first semester of my junior year," said Newman. "I thought the benefit was a lot better than taking more AP classes, so I asked Ms. Wass, 'How hard would it be for me to get my degree by the time I finish high school?' "
"Scheduling was definitely difficult at times, especially when working around Allie's high school schedule, extra-curriculars, and work outside of the classroom," said Melissa Wass, Garrett College's director of admissions and recruitment, who also oversees the College's High School Dual Enrollment program. "But she was extremely passionate about the thought of earning her associate's degree at the same time as her high school diploma."
"I wouldn't have been able to do any of it without her [Wass'] help," said Newman. "I talk to her every Thursday. She's even been a big help to me in transferring to WVU."
While Newman has been a full-time college student, she's also still fully engaged with her high school life. A brief summary of her extra-curricular activities includes:
- Southern Garrett High girls' tennis team captain and #1 singles player
- Class of 2024 vice president, four consecutive years
- SGHS Student Council secretary
- Treasurer, GCPS county-wide student councils
- GaCo #1629 robotics scouting team captain
- President, SGHS Women's Society
- Member, Future Business Leaders of America
"I don't really ever have free time. I'm just so driven," said Newman, who also has two jobs, 440 service hours, and interned last summer with the Office of the State's Attorney.
Newman said her parents – Benjamin Newman and Amy Myers – and little brother Gabriel have been very supportive of all her activities. However, Newman said having a daughter graduate from Garrett College at 17 didn't become real to her parents until quite recently.
"They didn't believe me when I said I was finishing up," said Newman, who is a first-generation college student. "Then, two weeks ago, I got a letter from Garrett College about graduation!"
Newman said her favorite classes at Garrett College were anthropology and ceramics. That was largely due to the instructors, Dr. Ryan Harrod and Lacy Miller, respectively.
"All the photos he showed us [from archaeological digs] were actually his pictures of his travels," Newman said of Dr. Harrod. "That made the subject more real for me."
"Allie was always actively engaged and made valuable contributions to the class," said Harrod. "Based on the interactions we had during the class, I feel strongly that Allie will make an excellent lawyer in the not-so-distant future."
Miller's class, meanwhile, was educational and relaxing.
"It was so therapeutic," said Newman. "I could cool down in that class as I was coming in straight from biology, and she was a really great teacher." Wass said Garrett College and Garrett County Public Schools have been working collaboratively to create pathways to streamline the process for students to complete an associate's degree the same year they graduate from high school. That option is one of the goals of The Blueprint for Maryland's Future, the educational reform legislation currently being implemented across the state.
"A student needs to have internal motivation and be fully invested in the program," Wass said of the keys to successfully earning a high school diploma and a college degree in the same year.
