On Dec. 13, more than 100 early college high school students from the Socorro Independent School District graduated from El Paso Community College, receiving their associate degrees during EPCC’s 2024 Fall Commencement Ceremony at UTEP's Don Haskins Center.
To celebrate this significant milestone in their academic journeys, SISD high schools hosted stole ceremonies for the graduates leading up to the EPCC commencement. During the ceremonies, students received stoles symbolizing their achievement and the degrees they earned through the district’s partnership with the college.
Among them was Jerri-Leah Talamantes, a Mission Early College High School senior, who received her stole on Dec. 2. She was one of 12 students from the school who earned their associate degrees before graduating high school.
“I'm honestly really excited. This has been a day that I've been dreaming about for a while,” Talamantes said about graduating from EPCC. She plans to pursue a bachelor's degree in education and become a teacher.
SISD offers the highest number of early college high schools in the region. The program is available at all six of its comprehensive high schools, as well as at Mission Early College High School, which is the first early college program in both the district and the region, and one of the first to open in the state.
SISD's early college programs allow students to earn a high school diploma and an associate degree from EPCC at no cost, or at least 60 college credit hours that can be applied toward a bachelor's degree.
Jocelyn Rosales saved time and money by attending Socorro Early College High School. By earning her associate degree at no cost, she will start her university studies as a junior and minimize expenses. She plans to major in criminology and join the FBI or US Marshals Service.
“Not many people can say that they graduated with an associate degree,” Rosales said about graduating college while in high school. She was one of five Bulldogs who received their stoles on Dec. 10. “I like to show it off, not in a braggy way, but I like to know that I represented my family in a good way.”
For Sebastian Ruiz, earning his associate degree was his first step toward a law degree and a future career as a lawyer. He said he was proud to be part of the group of 34 students from Pebble Hills Early College High School who participated in the stole ceremony on Dec. 3.
“Being in this program allowed me to actually explore all the careers in there and actually, I guess, dip my toes into what law is, and I love it,” Ruiz said.
Malachi Harris was one of four students at Empire Early College at El Dorado High School who were honored with stoles on Dec. 6. He began taking classes at EPCC during the summer after his freshman year, allowing him to graduate from the program ahead of schedule. Although he faced some challenges, he persevered to earn his degree.
“Being able to graduate early is something I actually didn't think I could do when I first joined the program until later on,” Harris said. "And then I realized that if I wanted to do this, and I wanted to graduate early, I would need to put in the work, put in the effort. So that's what I did.”
Other stole ceremonies included 31 students at Rams Early College at Montwood High School, two students at Trailblazer Early College at Americas High School and 21 students at Falcon Early College at Eastlake High School.
Americas High School stole ceremony event photos
Eastlake High School stole ceremony event photos
El Dorado High School stole ceremony event photos
Montwood High School stole ceremony event photos
MECHS High School stole ceremony event photos
Pebble Hills High School stole ceremony event photos
Socorro High School stole ceremony event photos