Hood goes from high school sophomore to college freshman
The Hood family of Kiester, Minnesota, threw an unusual party last June. The event was a combined celebration for one daughter graduating from high school … and another dropping out.
“My sister and I are 100-percent opposites,” Amanda Hood said, “but we got along great that day. It was really fun.”
Amanda was the sister dropping out, but with a purpose. She passed her GED exam and enrolled at Pillsbury Baptist Bible College last fall at age 16. When that college closed its doors in December, Hood transferred to Maranatha for the spring semester. She will turn 17 on April 5.
“It’s not right for everyone,” Hood said of being a teenager in college. “But I would tell everybody to be sure to look at all the opportunities.”
Sink or swim
Dual enrollment is no longer unusual. Thousands of students across the country (813,000 in 2002-03, according to the U.S. Department of Education) are taking high school and college classes—sometimes for both high school and college credit.
What is unusual is a 16-year-old packing her bags, leaving home and moving into a dormitory.
“Sure, we were a little uncomfortable,” said Ken Hood, Amanda’s father. “Imagine your 16-year-old telling you she wants to skip her last two years of high school.
“But, we have a sink-or-swim family. We’ll throw you off the bridge, then rescue you before you drown if we have to. Part of our job is to teach you to grow up and honor God with a godly life. We are not hovering or protective, so this was not out of character with our parenting philosophy.”
Desiring a challenge
The process that led Hood to Maranatha began when her family moved from Minneapolis to Kiester, in rural south central Minnesota, prior to her sophomore year of high school. She enrolled in the public school there, but found the academics somewhat less than challenging.
“I wasn’t lifting a finger, and I was still getting straight A’s,” Amanda Hood said. “I never felt like I had accomplished anything.”
Amanda ranks No. 6 in age order among the eight Hood children, and all six have attended college.
“The key for something like this isn’t to have a child who’s an Einstein,” Ken Hood said. “The character issues are far more important than academic prowess. Do they complete their homework on time? Do they get ready for tests without being nagged? Amanda was a very self-sufficient student. She’s never set a goal she didn’t meet. She has no ‘quit’ button.”
All the answers
Hood had no desire to be homeschooled or enroll in online school, so she began to research the possibility of leaving high school early. She gave the subject its due diligence and, when presenting the concept to her parents, “was ready with the answers to all their questions before they asked.”
“We told her we would sign off on it, but she had to make this happen on her own,” Ken Hood said.
Her teachers were “blown away.” Her friends were skeptical . The school guidance counselor and area GED administrator tried to dissuade her. Yet, she pressed on.
“High school is just a part of life, not the only part,” Hood said. “I mean, I can live without going to the prom, you know?”
According to the American Council on Education, the GED exam began in 1942 as an option for servicemen returning from World War II who had not yet completed high school. More than 15 million people have received a GED credential since. Although the content of the GED exam’s five sections was strengthened in 2002, Hood was able to pass without advance study.
She considered attending the University of North Dakota, the University of Minnesota and local community colleges before finally settling on Pillsbury.
“It was smaller, it was safer, and it put me smack in the middle between my family in Kiester and my family in Minneapolis,” Hood said.
Books yes, boys no
Hood enjoyed the challenge of college academics. Fitting into the social fabric of the campus was not entirely difficult, even for a teenager.
“Word got around in about a week, and about half of the girls treated me like their little sister,” Hood said. “As far as the boys ... I just didn’t get to know them real well. I surrounded myself with my girlfriends and had a blast. I mean, girls like guys. It’s sort of inevitable. But I’m 16 years old and I’m in college. I’ve got enough problems already.”
“I’d say she’s wired properly in that area, but she had also shown a lot of maturity prior to this in understanding the complexity of relationships,” Ken Hood said.
Maranatha Vice President for Institutional Advancement Dr. Jim Harrison said some teenagers have been accepted as students in the past, but noted, “We don’t actively encourage this. Most on the (Academic) Committee feel that students are best prepared for college when they complete four years of high school.”
What’s next?
Amanda will be 20 when she completes the requirements for her degree in Business Management. That will bring her to a whole new set of challenges.
“People in the business world might not take me seriously, so I’ll have to overcome that by working hard,” Hood said.
“At the same time, by the time I’m 25, I will have been working at that business five years. There won’t be a lot of other employees who can say that.”
--Andy Call, 2/23/09