School Bulletin: Graduates earn double degrees

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Two Sheboygan North High School graduates have double the reason to celebrate this summer. They earned their associate's degrees before finishing high school.

Charlie Rechtfertig and Jacob Swigert both started the College Here & Now program when they were sophomores. It allowed them to take courses at Lakeshore Technical College for free and study software and web development. But they also learned how valuable time management is.

"It is making your own schedule and sticking to it," Swigert says. "It's a difficult skill, but it was very important."

Swigert and Rechtfertig are the first Sheboygan North graduates of the College Here & Now program. Both say it proved to be a good investment.

"I would definitely recommend [the program] to anyone who even has some interest in it," Rechtferig says. "Even if you're not interested in going for the full degree, maybe just try taking a couple classes. Because at the very worst you get free college credits."

The students also kept busy outside of the classroom too. Rechtfertig joined robotics competitions and played in a community band. Swigert became an Eagle Scout, ran cross country and was part of the school's robotics team.

"My advice for the younger students, don't be afraid to talk to your counselors or even teachers," Swigert says. "They're job is to look out for you. They [know] all of those opportunities, and it's their job to find those for you. There's tons of them out there."

This fall, Rechtfertig will head off to UW-Madison, and Swigert will be at Lakeland University. Both will continue their studies in computer science and be ahead of the pack with general education and foundation courses already completed.