Students who qualify for the Dual Enrollment program do not have any out-of-pocket expenses and those who complete a semester of the program during high school are generally able to complete an Associate degree at Ranken in three semesters. The program started out only offering three programs but has now expanded to 10 eligible majors (Architecture, Automotive Collision Repair, Automotive Maintenance, Electrical Automation, Welding & Fabrication, Heating, Ventilation, Air-conditioning and Refrigeration, High-Performance Racing, Industrial Technology, Information Technology and Precision Machining).
The program was started with the intention of helping St. Louis City students get a jump start on college and their career but for one student, the program became much more; it was a life changer. While attending the Construction Career Center, Bridgett Wings learned of the new Dual Enrollment program with Ranken and knew it was a great opportunity. Wings’ father, Orlando Franklin, graduated from Ranken’s Industrial Electricity program in 1997 and she always knew she wanted to follow in his footsteps and join the electrical trade. Wings began taking courses in the Electrical Systems Design Technology (ESDT) program at Ranken during her senior year in addition to her final high school courses. She graduated from the Construction Career Center in June 2011 with a 4.0GPA and was also named Valedictorian of her class. "It was such a great feeling to be finishing high school and already have a head start on my college classes," said Wings. "I have always loved a challenge and that’s what I saw this program as. That is also the reason I chose to go into the ESDT program. I asked around to try to figure out which of the Electrical programs to go into and everyone said that ESDT was the most challenging."
To prove that she was up to the challenge, Wings decided to take classes through the summer to get her degree on the fast track. In addition to taking a full schedule of classes, Wings also worked a full-time job at Wal-Mart where she worked the overnight shift. Only one year after graduating from high school, Wings will receive her Associate of Technology degree in ESDT from Ranken at the May 2012 Commencement Ceremony. "My family has been my inspiration to do this," said Wings. "I love when I hear my little sisters say that they ‘want to go to college like Bridgett.’ I wanted to show them that it can be done and they can succeed at whatever they want to do." Wings was recently invited, along with 15 of her classmates, to interview with Sargent & Lundy in Chicago, Ill. Sargent & Lundy provides comprehensive consulting, engineering, design, and analysis for electric power generation and power delivery projects worldwide. The company offered full -time technician positions to 10 of the students who interviewed, including Wings. At only 19 years old, Wings will have a college degree and will be relocating to Chicago to begin a very promising career. "I am so excited to start this new chapter of my life," said Wings. "It is an amazing feeling to work really hard and have it pay off like this. I hear a lot of other kids my age make excuses as to why they didn’t finish high school or go to college. I have faced a lot of hard times in my life. My family didn’t have a lot of money and I was on my own at 17 years old. It’s all about the path you chose to take and the challenges you chose to take on. No matter what life throws at you, it can be done and I have proven that."
Once she is settled in her new job at Sargent & Lundy, Wings plans to complete a bachelor’s degree followed by a master’s degree in Computer Science. Her ultimate goal is to earn a PhD in Secondary Education so that she can retire as a teacher. Each year Ranken typically accepts 15-20 students into the Dual Enrollment program. To be eligible students must be in good academic standing at high school and have ACT scores of 17 or better in math and 13 or better in reading or satisfactory scores on Ranken’s placement test. For more information about the program, please contact Kevin Andert at
In 2009, Ranken formed a partnership with the St. Louis Public School System (SLPS) and the Construction Career Center in which qualified students can begin attending classes at Ranken for college credit during their senior year of high school.
(314) 286-4833 or kgandert@ranken.edu.
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