Kayla Hedley

Administrative Professional

Thanks to the Dual Credit program, Kayla Hedley, a 17-year-old from Spruce Grove, became a college graduate in June of 2016 while still in high school.

Looking ahead two steps at a time.

Dual credit program gives high school students college credentials

Getting things done in double time is Kayla Hedley’s thing.

The 17-year-old Spruce Grove resident is one of many Alberta students who is now a college graduate while still going to high school, providing her with added value to employers during these difficult economic times.

It is all part of the province’s Dual Credit program. At Edmonton’s NorQuest College, students from the Pembina Hills and Edmonton Catholic school divisions, as well as Evergreen Catholic Outreach, can earn college credits from very specific Dual Credit programs. Those credits can then be used towards high school graduation, thereby – upon completion – giving them accreditation from both the secondary and post-secondary levels at the same time.

Hedley graduated with honours and now has an Administrative Professional certificate; health care aide is the other Dual Credit certificate NorQuest offers.

“The benefits just keep on coming,” says Hedley, who currently attends St. Peter the Apostle High School high school in Spruce Grove, and will be moving on to MacEwan University this fall. “It’s been almost a year since I graduated from the program. Now I have professional skills and have a steady job that will be flexible with my university schedule.”

Hedley actually has two jobs directly related to her success in the Dual Credit program. She is the operations support coordinator at Sysco Edmonton, a food distribution company, and helps a private businesswoman with her accounting needs on a casual basis.

“Being able to work in this field makes me happy,” she says. “I have never loved my part time jobs before, but when I am doing office work, I am happy there.”

Hedley’s future plans are to finish MacEwan’s two-year HR Business Management diploma program, which in a familiar happenstance to her, will count towards the university’s Bacherlor of Commerce degree, making her eligible to graduate with both a diploma and a degree in just four years.
 The benefits just keep on coming. It’s been almost a year since I graduated from the program. Now I have professional skills and have a steady job that will be flexible with my university schedule.