While most juniors are just now thinking about where they might go, junior Lizzie Crawford has planned out her future and is ready to go. With the help of three years of summer school and two online classes, Crawford is graduating at the end of this year with the class of 2013.

“My decision to graduate early was very last minute,” Crawford said. “I came to my counselor Mrs. Prange, who has been the most helpful person in the world, and told her how stressed out I was with the high school environment.”

Prange told Crawford that with her credits already being so close to completed, all she would have to do is move her schedule around a bit and she could graduate an entire year early.

“I’d taken two science courses in one semester, so I was complete on my science credits. I had taken a summer English course so I doubled up [in English] this semester to get my proper credits,” Crawford said.

This might seem like a giant hassle, but Crawford claims that it was not as bad as she thought it would be.

“This process has been surprisingly easy,” Crawford said. “After the decision was made by Prange and I, I had to talk to Dr. Powers and Mr. McCarthy about my intentions, and get some formal papers signed. All went very smoothly, and steps toward graduation began.”

Since then Crawford has been paying her fees, getting her pictures, and turning in college applications like every senior. Junior Emily Walters understands where Crawford is coming from, and says she would do the same if she could.

“High school is so stressful,” Walters said. “It’s amazing that Lizzie can handle all that she is now.”

Walters says that she will miss Crawford when she is gone, but supports her decision. English teacher Mr. Chris Stout thinks that Crawford is making the best choice for herself.

“Students like Lizzie are destined to flourish in the university setting where one’s education is more specialized,” Stout said. “Students should consider what new opportunities their high school has to offer; don’t be in a hurry to grow up.  But Lizzie is incredibly self-aware and I believe her decision was based on a great deal of honest self-reflection.”

Although she will miss her peers and teachers, Crawford is excited for her new life. She plans on attending Wildwood University over the summer and fall and once she receives thirty credit hours, moving to Denver, Colorado. Crawford hopes to attend University of Denver at Colorado as a sophomore and studying microbiology and neuroscience.

“It’s been one of the most permanent choices I’ve ever made in my life, so fingers crossed it’s the right one,” Crawford said.