by Peyton Mills and Hunter Bargo
As the latest semester at Barbourville High School kicks into high-gear and classes begin anew, a handful of prospective students are continuing their education in a first for the school: a dual credit class through local Union College taught on campus, in an attempt to make such opportunities available to a wider variety of students. Despite this monumental step forward, however, there was one crucial detail left to examine, and it came in the form of payment. College courses are notoriously expensive, and while this particular class was much more affordable than a typical course, some students were concerned about having the money to pay. Indeed, the cost alone threatened the ability for many students to take the class our school had worked so hard to obtain.
Concerned, Brandon Simpson, the teacher at the helm of this project, set out to find a solution. He contacted Courtney Murphy, our GEAR UP coordinator, who immediately related to the issue and began working tirelessly to procure the funds in order to pay for any student willing to challenge themselves and take the class. “There’s no reason to pay for college when you can get scholarships that pay for it,” Murphy said on her reasoning, and with this year being GEAR UP’s first granting services to high school seniors, it was the perfect time to pitch funding this class to her supervisor.
 |
| Courtney Murphy (above) works through GEAR UP to help seniors with various post-graduation concerns. (Photo by Pamela Williams.) |
