UC's Youngest December Graduate, Brooke Kirkland, a UC Clermont Student, is Receiving her Associate's Degree at Age 18

The youngest University of Cincinnati December 2013 graduate is Brooke Kirkland, 18, a UC Clermont student receiving a Liberal Arts degree. Kirkland grew up in Batavia and has been home schooled her entire life. She started attending the post-secondary program at UC Clermont her junior year of high school and has been attending ever since.

Kirkland just completed her high school studies six months ago in May 2013. Clermont Northeastern High School was the granting institution for her high school diploma since she was home schooled until she came to UC Clermont during her junior year in high school through the Post Secondary Enrollment Options Program (PSEOP). The PSEOP program enables high school students to earn college credit and/or high school graduation credit when they take classes at UC. Brooke earned a 3.4 grade point average at UC.

“My ultimate goal is to graduate with my master's degree in Communication and minor in Spanish. After graduating this year with my associate's in Liberal Arts, I plan to take spring semester off to save some money and hopefully intern and gain experience with communications. From there, I will transfer to UC main campus in the fall and complete the rest of my degree. I am so excited,” said Kirkland.

Her motivation for receiving her degree has been her entire family and her friends who have been encouraging and have helped her strive toward earning her degree. “They continued to believe in me even when I continued to doubt in myself. God has also given me strength and provided opportunities for me when I thought there were none,” she said.
 
Brooke adds: "I want to thank UC Clermont for giving me such an amazing opportunity and providing me with the education that I needed for my future. I have really liked Clermont a lot – enjoyed the experience here. It's close to home. I've met so many people, and the professors are really good, responsive and engaging. I have a younger sibling who is following in my footsteps, starting at UC Clermont as a high school junior. I'm also excited to go to UC's main campus. This was a good transition starting here and then on to a big university setting at UC.”

UC Clermont College is located in the center of Clermont County on 91 beautiful wooded acres in Batavia Township. The college is an accredited, open-access college offering more than 50 programs and degrees. UC East, the Clermont County expansion in the former Ford plant in Batavia Township, opened in the fall of 2010. It is home to UC Clermont's Allied Health programs. The college is part of the nationally recognized University of Cincinnati. At UC Clermont College we bring the power of UC... close to home! For more information, call 513-732-5200 or visit www.ucclermont.edu