RIO LINDA, Calif. — There's a high school senior in Rio Linda who has overcome every challenge of the pandemic, now he is graduating as a college sophomore.
The credits are part of the Dual Enrollment Program at Twin Rivers Unified School District is helping dozens of students get to college.
18-year-old Brandon Thao is a senior at Rio Linda High School.
“While taking these courses, I’ve earned over 30 credits so I’m now a sophomore entering college," Thao said.
Thao was born and raised in Rio Linda. The Sacramento County neighborhood has a high rate of unemployment where many adults haven’t gone to college, according to the California Healthy Places Index.
"I want to be an optometrist so I’m trying to go to school early, that’s why I did this whole program, to get a year in to become an optometrist," he said.
Thao defied the odds, not only in his neighborhood but with his Rio Linda High School classmates too, as many struggled with distance learning during the pandemic.
"At first, it would be difficult, because college class, the pacing is a little quicker but over time, you adapt to it," he said.
And Thao isn’t alone. 175 other high school seniors from Twin Rivers Unified School District are also graduating ahead with college credits from their Dual Enrollment Program, partnering with American River College to offer 18 different courses.
The best part? It’s free and means one fewer college course families have to pay for.
“It levels the playing field for students with more diverse backgrounds because they have more college credit options and Twin Rivers pays for books, any college fees that they may have and they are really considered ARC students at that time," said Carol Young, the district's Director of Counseling and College/Career Readiness.
Young says it's meant to create a can-do attitude for students getting ready to enter the real world.
"I see the kids who take the ARC kids are full of confidence as they come back to our school to take their high school courses, they know they can do it so it builds the confidence in kids as well," Paul Orlando, the Principal of Rio Linda High School said.
Because of Thao’s hard work, he got accepted to all four universities that he applied to and he’ll be heading to the University of Utah as a sophomore in the fall.
“It’s super incredible! I feel excited, you know it’s one less year in college, I’m just happy!” Thao said.
