TIFTON — For most Tift County High School students, walking across the stage at Brodie Field will be the first time they walk as a graduate. Two students, however, have already participated in a graduation ceremony: at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College.

Emily Katherine Eason and Coleman Whitfield Byers both graduated with an associates degree from ABAC before they walked across the stage to graduate from TCHS.

Byers, who is looking at going into environmental engineering, and Eason, who wants to major in accounting and minor in forensic accounting, utilized the Move On When Ready program.

Move On When Ready courses count as both high school credit and college credit at the same time, which helps students who have the ability and focus to complete the classes get a jump start for college, according to Jonathan Judy, director of communications and innovation at the Tift County School System.

Eason, who began taking college level classes in the fall of 2017, said that when she realized she had two years until she graduated from high school and it took two years to earn an associates, she decided to go for it.

“I took one high school class fall of 2017, but the past three semesters I’ve been fully at ABAC,” she said. “I like to be ahead, and now I’m ahead.”

“It’s two years of free college, which is amazing,” Byers, who started in summer semester of 2017 said. “Getting our associates is guaranteed by USG (The University System of Georgia) so those credits have to transfer. It doesn’t matter if it’s (to) another school, they have to transfer. That’s one of the reasons I decided not to just take as many classes as I want and instead go for the degree.”

Byers is going to the University of Georgia and Eason will be attending Valdosta State University. If a student starts a degree at one school and then transfers to another, the school doesn’t have to accept credits from another institution. Since both Byers and Eason have their degree, the schools they will be attending can’t require them to take classes over again that they’ve already passed.

Both students enjoyed the experience, despite some unexpected things unique to the college experience.

“For me, the first semester I was there, there was a girl right beside me who said, ‘Oh yeah, my kid is three,’” Byers said. “I was like, hold up.”

Eason said that she had a fellow student who brought her baby to class every now and then.

“I’m like, whoa, this is college, it’s weird,” she said. “People showing up in their pajamas, it was very different.”

Eason said that while she didn’t feel she missed out on anything in high school, she enjoyed the college experience, particularly being around other students who were just as passionate about learning and math as she is.

“I love when you go to class and the students actually care,” she said. “They’re actually listening. They’re asking what you thought about so-and-so.”

She also liked being able to take classes in a field to see if it would be something she would want to continue in.

Byers said that one of the things he greatly enjoyed was getting to know and work with professors who are experts in their fields.

“They are sincere experts and they know what they’re talking about,” he said. “One of the initial reasons I chose to go to ABAC was because I wanted to be exposed to different fields and see how the people in those fields feel about it.”

Byers said that Move On When Ready isn’t for everyone.

Both students agree that students who would benefit from the program are self-motivated and responsible.

“You’ve got to go all in,” he said.

Eason had to take summer classes at ABAC to make sure she got her 60 credit hours to get her associates.

“I was working a 40-hour week job at the same time, which I learned was not a good combination,” Byers, who also took a summer semester class, said.

Judy explained that while students can take classes as part of the Move On When Ready program without going for an associates degree, if their goal is the degree then they have to commit.

Eason recommends that students try the program out and see if it’s for them before diving in.

Cynthia Hall, director of dual enrollment at ABAC, which oversees the program, said that recently there has been a bigger push for getting students to utilize the program.

“We have a few students, like Emily and Cole, who graduate with their associates before they graduate from high school, and I think that’s really cool,” Hall said. “It takes a lot of effort and these two students are just brilliant.”

Hall said that both students had to put in a lot of effort and take classes in the summer to make it happen.

“It wasn’t an easy task,” she said. “They planned it out early on and decided they wanted to get their associates degree before graduating.”

Hall said that not every student has to aim for a degree.

“Dual enrollment is wonderful for students who just want to get a good feel for college and try it out before they go,” she said.

Both Eason and Byers only have one issue now- figuring out how to get all of their honor cords from both TCHS and ABAC to stay around their necks as they walk across the stage on Brodie Field on Saturday.