UC College Credit Plus student celebrates high school and college at the same time
Recent UC and Walnut Hills High graduate Caden Elrod interviewed on WLWT and Local 12
Caden Elrod made history for Cincinnati Public Schools and the University of Cincinnati this month by graduating first with a bachelor’s in math and statistics at UC and then just last week with a diploma from Walnut Hills High School.
Elrod was the first CPS student to simultaneously earn a high school diploma and bachelor’s degree. At UC, Elrod was among first two students to finish his bachelor’s while still completing high school through the College Credit Plus program.
Sai Gollamudi, a student at Centerville High School in Centerville, Ohio, was also part of the College Credit Plus program and completed his bachelor’s in neuroscience at UC earlier this month.
Local 12 News and WLWT aired stories on the College Credit Plus graduates.
Elrod started taking classes at UC during middle school as part of the College Credit Plus Program. It allows students in grades 7-12 who qualify to take college level courses at UC and other Ohio universities.
About 5,000 students participate in the College Credit Plus program at UC and on average students are able to pick up 12 to 18 credit hours before graduation. The program teaches independence and self-sufficiency, according to Lorrie Bishop, director of Launch UC, who also spoke with Local 12 News for a story.
Sai Gollamudi, smiling in the center, is shown at UC Commencement. Photo provided.
"The most important part becoming a college credit plus student is students being able to self-advocate and be able to start navigating the business of being a college student," Bishop told Local 12 News. "So, when Caden was dropped off for class in the 7th grade, Caden was treated like a typical undergraduate student."
Despite his accelerated academic path, Elrod told WLWT for a story that he made time for typical high school activities. He started at UC when he was 12-years-old with public speaking being his first class on campus.
"I've been to all my proms, homecoming, all the dances," Elrod explained. "Every single semester that I've been at Walnut, I've done a sport: cross-country, golf, tennis, ultimate frisbee."
Elrod has a job and will work in the Department of Defense on a US Navy base doing AI research. Gollamudi is looking to get a second degree, possibly in business, and has been accepted at Yale, Princeton, Cornell and Duke. He wants to eventually go into medicine.
View the full segment on WLWT online.
Elrod's story was also picked up by WJCL in Savannah, Ga.
View the story on Local 12 online.
The Dayton Daily News produced a story featuring Sai Gollamudi.
Featured top image of Caden Elrod at the Visitor Center in University Pavilion on the UC campus. Photo provided.
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