Caroline County student to earn Associate's Degree at GCC before high school graduation

Paige Romeo will begin college as a junior, thanks to Germanna's affordable Dual Enrollment program
Caroline High School student Paige Romeo will walk at Germanna Community College's commencement in May before she graduates from CHS in June. GCC's Dual Enrollment program, which allows students to get credit for college courses at their high schools, has allowed her to leap ahead and save money at the same time. The cost of GCC courses is about one-third of the cost of classes at four-year-colleges and universities.
The 18-year-old Romeo is also more comfortable with the idea of going off to college because of her GCC Dual Enrollment experience. She plans to attend Virginia Tech in the fall. "I've gotten a taste of what college is like and still had the (home) support system," she said, adding that she believes it will make adjusting to college life away from home easier.
"The experience has been awesome. All the professors have been nice. I thought their expectations might be too much, but all you have to do is do the work."

Eastern View High sophomores Heather Lister and R.J. Smith check a human simulator's heartbeat in Germanna's Virtual Hospital on Nov. 13. More EVHS students will visit today.



About 50 Eastern View High School 10th graders from Culpeper will be visiting Germanna Community College's Locust Grove Campus today.

Another group of EVHS students took the same tour last week.

Along with receiving general information about the college, they will be getting a sense of what it is like to be a Germanna student.

Colonial Forge High students are preparing to become teachers through a new Germanna Dual Enrollment course

Colonial Forge High School’s Teachers for Tomorrow students who visited GCC Campus are enrolled in the SDV 110 course, Orientation to Teaching, which allows students to earn both high school and college credit at the high school. This new Dual Enrollment course developed by the Virginia Community College System and the Virginia Department of Education is being offered first at CFHS.

Many of the CFHS students are also earning DE English Composition, Calculus, and Biology credits at CFHS through Germanna’s Dual Enrollment Program. In addition to SDV 110, Colonial Forge also added drafting courses to their Dual Enrollment Offerings this fall.
During the campus visit, students learned about Germanna’s Education transfer degree program from Mark Haines, Coordinator of Counseling Services. Matt Mejia, Associate Dean of Admissions from the University of Mary Washington also provided information about how students can begin at GCC and then transfer to UMW to complete their BA or BS degree, while also earning teacher licensure. Dr. Frances Doloph from ODU spoke about transfer to ODU Teletechnet as well. Teachers for Tomorrow instructor Susan Easter accompanied the CFHS students.

Hundreds learn about Germanna and Dual Enrollment at College Tour event

Riverbend High School student Heather Aylesworth and her mother, Tina Harris, talk with Germanna's Canice Graziano about nursing and dual enrollment during College Tour night at Spotsylvania Towne Centre.


Sixteen-year-old Riverbend High School sophomore Heather Aylesworth may be too young to head off to college yet, but she's not too young to plan for the day she will.

Heather, who wants some day to be a pediatric nurse at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, plans to begin her nursing studies with the program at Germanna Community College.

Her mother, Tina Harris, says it'll be nice to have Heather at home early in her college career.

But even before she leaves Riverbend High, she'll be getting a head start toward that goal by earning college credit through Germanna's Dual Enrollment Program.

GCC Coordinator of Dual Enrollment Canice Graziano says Heather will be taking DE English Comp and DE Pre-Calculus to earn college credit at her high school.

"Because she's planning so early she'll be able to take advantage of earning up to 12 college credits at Riverbend," Graziano says.

Heather was one of 300 students who stopped by the Germanna table to pick up materials and ask questions and GCC was one of dozens of colleges to participate in the event.