Dawn Shields, Online Coordinator for the Academy for Customized Learning, is pictured in the Virtual Academy at Mount Union Area High School.
By LILLIAN BOOKHEIMER | Journalism Student, Mount Union Area Senior High School
Mount Union, Pa. — Dawn Shields, Online Coordinator for the Academy for Customized Learning, helps lead one of the most comprehensive Pennsylvania Highlands Community College dual enrollment programs within Huntingdon County.
Pennsylvania Highlands is a community college that has various locations across Pennsylvania. Their main location is in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The online program has been incorporated into fifty-four Pennsylvania high schools, giving students expanded educational opportunities.
The main goal of the program is for students to earn an associate’s degree. Dawn Shields, the Pennsylvania Highlands representative for the Mount Union Area School District, spoke briefly about the program and why it is beneficial for students. Shields elaborated, “Penn Highlands has eleven different associate degrees in high school programs operating this school year. The degree students earn an Associate of Arts degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences.”
The Mount Union program is one of the most successful Pennsylvania Highlands programs. Its students are known for being dedicated and hardworking, and there are many opportunities for the up-and-coming ninth and tenth graders. The program provides an amazing pathway for those looking to further their education while still in high school. There are many opportunities for students to earn scholarships, save money for tuition, and shorten the time it takes to earn an advanced degree by applying credits earned in high school. The college-level coursework the students are given also helps students gain valuable educational experience with college expectations and rigorous academic work.
Mrs. Shields has been involved with the degree program at Mount Union since it began. The first class of degree graduates was the class of 2016. “Mount Union has forty-one associate degree graduates. Fifty-four percent of those graduates are college honors graduates,” explained Mrs. Shields. The program has given many the chance at scholarships, and ninety-one percent of these students earn a bachelor’s degree in less than four years.
The upcoming 2026 seniors in the program will be earning their degrees at the end of this year. “Graduation is bittersweet,” said Shields. There are two separate graduations Mrs. Shields attends: one at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College’s main campus and the other at the Mount Union Area High School. Shields explained it is sad to see students leaving, but it is also exciting to watch them go into their next stage of their lives. “I am confident they will do amazing things,” Mrs. Shields said.
The perspective of someone overseeing the program is valuable, but students also have insights to share. Ava McVey, a Mount Union senior, has been part of the program for two years and will earn her associate degree this spring. She has earned a 4.0 GPA and hopes to become a forensic psychologist. “I’ve worked diligently to get to where I am today,” McVey said. She’s one of many students proving how valuable the program can be.
This article was published as part of Ms. Dimoff’s Journalism class at Mount Union Area Senior High School.
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