Ahead of the class

Students choose early college path

LAUREL – Holly Patefield and Danica Gould crossed the high school finish line ahead of the pack and are lining up at the starting b locks of their college career next week.

Both graduated mid-term from Laurel-Concord-Coleridge School and will be attending Northeast Community College in Norfolk in January. Then in fall 2026, both will be enrolled at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Patefield will be studying accounting while Gould will be attending courses in Child, Youth and Family Studies.

“I am very excited about this decision (to graduate early) and feel that while it will be hard to leave everyone behind, it will help me get a head start on college and life after high school,” Patefield said.

Both students said they earned an A-plus in perseverance and hard work to stay focused on finishing high school requirements early, attributes that will likely serve them well in college.

“I had to push myself to keep going even when the weeks felt long and the schoolwork was hard,” Gould said.

While they may be leaving LCC hallways behind, lasting friendships and memories will carry them into this next chapter of life.

Patefield said competing in state One-Act competition is on her high school highlight reel.

“Everyone put in a lot of time and effort into getting to that p oint, so it was a great experience to see that pay off,” she said.

Gould said she will miss seeing her friends every day as well a s Guidance Counselor Sarah Beckwith and High School Principal Jennifer Van Meter, who mentored her along her early graduation track. “Mrs. Van Meter always motivated me to try harder and not let the hard stuff get in the way of what I wanted to do,” she said. “Mrs. Beckwith encouraged me to try new things and helped me remember that life is not all about my grades but also about having fun.” Gould said qualifying to compete as a team in the state golf competition and being accepted into the National Honor Society will be lasting memories from her high school years. Also, she’ll never forget attending high school classes in the temporary cottages and the city auditorium during her freshman year while the school was under construction.

That was a lesson all on its own, she said. “It taught me to be flexible and make the best out of a not-so-g reat situation,” Gould said.