Raven Osborne will walk across the stage at her high school graduation on May 22.
But she’ll get her college degree Friday.
That’s because the 18-year-old from Gary, Indiana, started taking college courses at Purdue University since she was a freshman. And she just kept going and going.
She was in classes year round for three years — except for last summer when she opted for a faith-based trip to Nigeria. She often spent three to four hours a night doing homework.
Her mantra, she told CNN, was: “Take advantage of any early college opportunity their school offers because it will be worth it in the end.”
Osborne attends 21st Century Charter School of Gary where every student is required to take college classes. But she took it a a step further.
She just might be the first person in Gary to graduate college before high school, said Kevin Teasley, the school principal.
Come fall, Osborne has been hired by her high school as a reading interventionist.
“Every child is different, and I don’t want to pressure children, but I look forward to possibly mentoring the younger children at the school, ” she said.
Osborne hasn’t thought much about the first thing she’ll do after graduation. She may get some sleep.
Or, she says, she may start working to get her teaching license.
