Now ready to transfer to a bachelor鈥檚 program in North Carolina, Henry Monterio鈥檚 college journey first began when he was a 15-year-old homeschool student in the NCC Early College program. 鈥淚 probably completed 5 or 6 classes before I graduated high school and got into college,鈥 said Henry.

Henry Monterio, Class of 2021, leans against a tree outdoorsEarly College invites high school students to take classes on campus for college and high school credit. Students can use the program to build a college transcript, and explore academic and career pathways. For Henry, it helped steer him toward marketing.

鈥淢y dad is an accountant, so I鈥檝e always been around business. I wasn鈥檛 100 percent sure what I wanted to do, but I knew I wanted to do something business-related. When I was still in high school, I took intro to marketing and thought it was neat.鈥

Henry took 2-3 Early College classes each semester in addition to his high school classes. After high school, the credits applied toward core classes and electives in his business degree at NCC.

At NCC, he enjoyed the small campus feel and made friends playing basketball during the lunch hour. Academically, he singled out the Marketing Capstone course for its 鈥渄eep dive鈥 approach to case studies, 鈥淭he way it鈥檚 set up is great, you can really dive in to each case study and learn more about it.鈥

However, the highlight was the faculty connection. 鈥淓very professor I have I absolutely loved, especially John Carlisle, head of the business department. I have taken 3 or 4 classes with him; he鈥檚 one of my favorite teachers.鈥

With his 2-year associate degree completed, Henry will transfer to East Carolina University for his bachelor鈥檚 in marketing.

Advice to Future Students

鈥淒efinitely choose a community college before going to a 4-year right away. Even if you know what you want to do 鈥 because cost-wise, I鈥檓 paying for 2 years at a 4 year college,鈥 he said, adding that the low-cost is particularly helpful for undecided students who may want time to explore their options.

鈥淓specially if you don鈥檛 know what you want to do; community college is much, much better because you can take different classes and decide want you want to do from there.鈥

Interested in resources for Homeschool Students? Visit NCC’s Homeschool Page for details

Have an alumni story you’d like to share? Contact our Alumni Network team at [email protected]

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