Whittier Vo-Tech senior Allasandra “Ally” Thompson of Haverhill  was one of the student speakers at the Early College Recognition ceremony.

When Haverhill High School senior Keighley Credit heads off to UMass Boston in the fall, she will take 30 Northern Essex Community College credits with her thanks to the Early College Program.

Credit was one of 21 HHS students and 45 Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School students to earn college credits while still in high school. The students have been attending courses on the Haverhill campus, in some cases, since their sophomore year in high school.

The students were celebrated for their achievements at a recognition ceremony on Wednesday, May 22, in the Hartleb Technology Center on the Haverhill campus.

NECC President Lane Glenn marveled at the number of students and families in the room.

It was a full house of family and friends during the Early College Recognition ceremony.

“Wow it is so magnificent to see so many…reflecting on just a few years ago when we started the program and had just a few students enrolled in a few classes.”

He spoke to the parents noting that anyone who has worried about their high school students receiving a quality and affordable education found the solution with the Early College Program. The state of Massachusetts is making it a priority to promote the program, he said.

“So spread the word,” he encouraged. “We expect the classes to only get larger.”

He commended the students saying, “It’s a lot of work taking both high school and college classes.”

A number of students will continue their college education at Northern Essex while others are transferring to Coastal Carolina University, Suffolk University, Salem State University, Emmanuel College, Sacred Heart University, James Madison University, UMass Lowell, UMass Dartmouth and UMass Worcester, Worcester State, and Mass College of Art.

NECC President Lane Glenn takes a selfie with the HHS students who were recognized for their participation in Early College.

Nevaeh Noury of Haverhill is graduating from HHS with 36 credits. She is transferring to UMass Amherst and hopes to pursue a medical degree.

Tabitha Noyes is first in her graduating class of 316 at Whittier Vo-Tech. Noyes has a 4.4 GPA and is transferring her six credits to Boston University where she will study linguistics.

Credit, the HHS student speaker, told the audience that by the end of her time in the program she realized it was one of the “most underrated opportunities that we as high school students have the opportunity of taking advantage of.”

She said Early College is allowing her to save a year’s worth of time and money as she pursues her bachelor’s in psychology at UMass Boston. She thanked the faculty and staff of the college for giving high school students the chance to “take control of their future and open their eyes”.

Ally Thompson was the student speaker for Whittier. Early College she said, “…was challenging, however I’m grateful to have taken these courses because it made me a better writer and pushed me to get used to college deadlines while still in high school. If nothing else, we have all learned that time management is one of the key skills needed to be successful in college.”

Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School student who participated in NECC’s Early College program were recognized.

She added that she has earned almost 10 percent of the required credits to graduate from UMass Boston where she will pursue a degree in nursing.

Here are lists of HHS and Whittier students who were recognized.

Also speaking at the recognition ceremony were Noemi Custodia-Lora, NECC’s vice president of the Lawrence Campus and community relations; Glenn Burns, principal at HHS, and Chris Laganas, Whittier principal.

Northern Essex currently has Early College Programs with Lawrence, Haverhill, Whittier and Amesbury high schools. Last fall, there were 300 high school students receiving college credit from Northern Essex by enrolling in Early College Programs or other high school partnerships.

To learn more, visit the website or contact NECC at 978 659-1235 or pk12@necc.mass.edu