{"id":20018,"date":"2026-05-13T07:56:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T17:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/?p=20018"},"modified":"2026-05-13T09:44:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T19:44:00","slug":"2026-student-voice-a-college-degree-before-a-high-school-diploma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/ja\/2026-student-voice-a-college-degree-before-a-high-school-diploma\/","title":{"rendered":"Student Voice: A college degree before a high school diploma"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Marc Binonwangan, Kapa\u2018a High School<\/em>
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For almost all high schoolers across the nation, the graduation season is nearing. Grades are being finalized, senior pictures are being taken and college decisions are being made. Graduation is the final step in receiving their diplomas and signifies their transition to adulthood; some aren\u2019t walking the stage just once<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I live the life of two students: a regular high school senior at Kapa\u2018a High School and a full-time college student at Kaua\u2018i Community College. Through Kapa\u2018a High\u2019s Early College Program, I have been able to take credits through dual enrollment and learn from real professors on campus. I\u2019ve created interpersonal relationships with my professors that have helped exponentially whenever I\u2019m in a pinch while studying or confused about coursework. I haven\u2019t always wanted to go down the path of an associate’s degree or ever seen myself taking this many courses before graduation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enrolling in Kapa\u2018a High School from a small Catholic private school was a much bigger step than I anticipated. I had limited knowledge of the available courses, so I did what most students would do: I researched! I searched for hundreds of hours on the classes I should take to set myself up for the easiest transition to college. Honors and AP courses were the most common answers I found all over the internet. The only problem was that Kapa\u2018a didn\u2019t offer either option at all. Stuck on what to do, I talked to my counselor, Ms. Carvalho, and was introduced to the amazing world of Early College, or Dual Enrollment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Starting in my sophomore year, I would be able to start taking courses at Kapa\u2018a High School, but receive credits for both my high school and the University of Hawai\u2019i system. Jumping at this opportunity, I took a total of 3 classes: BUS 120, SPH 151, and ENT 125. Although it was a little challenging at first, I felt myself start to enjoy taking these Early College courses and learn at a different level that wouldn\u2019t be possible through normal high school classes. I knew that this was the path I needed to take going forward. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now a senior, I have taken 21 courses across three campuses, all leading to an associate\u2019s degree in Liberal Arts. I wouldn\u2019t have made it where I am today without all the professors and staff I have met while in the Early College program at Kapa\u2018a High. Even though our school does not offer the same classes common throughout all other high schools, Kapa\u2019a students still receive an amazing education and are more than well prepared for college. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For all underclassmen, take advantage of the opportunities given to you. If you\u2019re interested, talk to your counselor about Early College courses and ask for advice on which classes to try. You can learn just as much, or even more, by being proactive and exploring what is available! I never would have thought of taking Early College classes coming into high school, but now I recommend this path to every new student who enrolls at Kapa\u2018a High.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Marc Binonwangan is a senior at Kapa\u2019a High School. Along with being a student at Kapa\u2018a High, he is a dual-enrolled student at Kaua\u2018i Community College pursuing a liberal arts degree through Kapa\u2018a High School\u2019s Early College Program. His passions lie in robotics, where he participates in the FIRST robotics program both as a competitor and a mentor. He is also involved in Key Club, HOSA, and National Honor Society. In his free time, he likes to cook, tinkering with personal projects, and volunteering in the community.<\/em>
<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Marc Binonwangan, Kapa\u2018a High School For almost all high schoolers across the nation, the graduation season is nearing. Grades are being finalized, senior pictures are being taken and college decisions are being made. Graduation is the final step in receiving their diplomas and signifies their transition to adulthood; some aren\u2019t walking the stage just once I live the life of two students: a regular high school senior at Kapa\u2018a High School and a full-time college student at Kaua\u2018i Community College. Through Kapa\u2018a High\u2019s Early College Program, I have been able to take credits through dual enrollment and learn from real professors on campus. I\u2019ve created interpersonal relationships with my […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":20024,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"856,888,893,1022,1619,1622","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","wp_popup_display_lightbox":0,"wp_popup_suppress":"","wp_popup_trigger":"","wp_popup_trigger_amount":0,"wp_popup_disable_on_mobile":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,22,21,51],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20018","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-highlights","category-hoohaaheo","category-news","category-student-voice"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":30,"label":"Highlights"},{"value":22,"label":"Ho\u2018oha\u2018aheo"},{"value":21,"label":"News"},{"value":51,"label":"Student Voice"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Kapaa-HS-1024x512.jpg",1024,512,true],"author_info":{"display_name":"Kim Yuen","author_link":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/ja\/author\/kimberly-yuenk12-hi-us\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":30,"name":"Highlights","slug":"highlights","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":30,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":3,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":30,"category_count":3,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Highlights","category_nicename":"highlights","category_parent":0},{"term_id":22,"name":"Ho\u2018oha\u2018aheo","slug":"hoohaaheo","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":22,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":77,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":22,"category_count":77,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Ho\u2018oha\u2018aheo","category_nicename":"hoohaaheo","category_parent":0},{"term_id":21,"name":"News","slug":"news","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":21,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":323,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":21,"category_count":323,"category_description":"","cat_name":"News","category_nicename":"news","category_parent":0},{"term_id":51,"name":"Student Voice","slug":"student-voice","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":51,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":21,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":51,"category_count":21,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Student Voice","category_nicename":"student-voice","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":false,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-20 13:03:30","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"post_status","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20018","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20018"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20018\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20021,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20018\/revisions\/20021"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20024"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20018"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20018"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20018"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}