Years ago, when a student started their Senior Year of high school, they started considering if they were going to go to college and if so, where to apply. Those thoughts now come earlier as the Umatilla School District supports the full cost of college courses working toward degrees or career certifications and many students have taken advantage of the opportunity. Some motivated students earn their Associate of Arts Oregon Transfer (AAOT) degree by the end of their high school career, giving them a head start on their college degree. One Umatilla High School student has gone above and beyond and earned his AAOT degree at the end of his junior year.
Jonathon Rome just started his senior year at UHS and this past summer, in July, he earned his AAOT degree. According to the Umatilla School District, Rome is the first student in the district to earn his AAOT before his senior year even started.
Rome, who started attending Umatilla schools at the start of his freshman year, said he found out about the opportunity to earn his AAOT during high school when school counselor Dee Lorence talked to his class at the end of freshman year. Rome said he knew it would save quite a bit of money and seemed like it would be fun to earn the AAOT during high school. “Also, I don’t remember who, but someone told me it was impossible to get my degree before my senior year, so I was curious to see if it was possible and I didn’t want to wait for someone else to do it,” Rome said.
He started taking college courses at the end of his sophomore year, taking all of the dual credit classes except for science offered at UHS. Most of his online college courses were through Blue Mountain Community College, except for one through Rogue Community College. At one time, he was taking seven classes, three dual credit classes and four online ones, which was overwhelming at times. His favorite class was Geography of Oregon, which was studying a map of the state and the differences in regions.
At UHS, Rome was in band for two years, in computer science for one year and is now the head of programming for FIRST Robotics team, Confidential. He recently used equipment in the robotics lab to 3-D print his own diploma frame for his AAOT diploma.
Rome, who said he is proud of his accomplishment, has started his bachelor’s degree at Eastern Oregon University and is also considering earning a second associate’s degree in computer science. He will probably major in Business Administration and is interested in computer science and managerial career jobs. Until he graduates from high school, Umatilla School District is continuing to pay the cost of his tuition and fees. “We’ve celebrated every college credit earned in high school through this program and we’re honored to support Jonathon as he continues to challenge himself,” said Superintendent Heidi Sipe.
UHS Vice Principal April Dirksen describes Rome as a delightful human being with an amazing amount of dedication. “Jonathon is a great example of what a high school kid can accomplish if he or she puts their mind to it. He created a goal, worked hard and he did it!”
