Hanna Lauterbach

Hanna Lauterbach, 16, was more miserable in high school than the kids on Glee. “I thought I was wasting a lot of time in class,” she says. “I didn’t do badly, but I was really bored and really angry.” Luckily, her high school offered a different option: Take college classes while still in high school at her local community college. Today she’s taking a challenging schedule of calculus, computer programming, American history and literature. “It was tough at first, but I’ve come to enjoy it because it’s quite a bit faster than a high school class. I’m a pretty fast learner so I’m able to progress more, and I like learning at that pace and being more self-directed. Your college classes get paid for, and college goes a lot faster.” When Hanna goes off to college she’ll have a full portfolio of transfer credits under her belt; some of her fellow students have the option of transferring to a four-year college as juniors by the time they reach 18, and they also have more time to work while they’re in high school. “In college, you have to want to learn,” Hanna says about the advantages of her new program. “In high school I got beaten down to where I really didn’t want to be coming there. But when I go to my calculus class now I think, oh wow, I’m going to learn something new today. So it’s valuable that way.” See resources for high schoolers.