Parker Guppy, who’ll be a senior at Bushnell-Prairie City High School this fall, is getting a head start on his future welding career by taking advantage of Sandburg’s flexible dual-credit options—even though he lives about 35 minutes from the college’s Galesburg campus.

What many students and families don’t realize is that dual-credit opportunities through Sandburg extend beyond what’s offered at their local high school or vocational center. Through a proactive approach between Sandburg’s dual-credit coordinators and local high schools, students like Parker can access dual-credit courses that align with their career interests, regardless of location.

For Parker, the process of enrolling in dual-credit coursework was straightforward. A Sandburg representative visited his high school to help students explore their options.

“All I had to do was write down on a piece of paper what class I needed,” Guppy said. “The lady who was helping us sign up for classes was super nice and super helpful. She was like, ‘Well, what do you want to go into?’ And I said, ‘Well, I really want to be a welder.’”

Upon learning about Parker’s career goals, the Sandburg representative worked with him to identify relevant courses that would count toward Sandburg’s welding program requirements. While Parker’s high school offers some vocational programs, they don’t include the advanced welding training he wants to pursue.

Linda Thomas, Sandburg’s Carthage campus coordinator, helped Guppy navigate the admissions process for this unique arrangement. Rather than requiring Guppy to travel to Sandburg for classes, the college worked with him to develop an individualized plan that included taking a manufacturing course online while still in high school.

“I knew that Sandburg has a pretty good welding program,” said Guppy, who already has some hands-on welding experience. He works part-time building gates for Hess Farms, having discovered his passion for welding through a course at B-PC.

For students considering Sandburg’s advanced welding certificate program, several general education requirements must be completed alongside the hands-on welding courses. By taking even one of these courses while still in high school, Guppy can potentially accelerate his path to certification.

“I just decided that I would take the manufacturing class and then go from there,” Guppy explains. “I was just hoping to get at least one credit done, so then I could maybe be done a little bit quicker.”

This strategic approach allows Guppy to experience college-level coursework while maintaining his high school activities, including playing quarterback for the football team.

“I want to be able to still be a high school student in a way,” Guppy said. “I just want to try it out, see how I like it. And then after my senior year, I’ll go into college and get my stuff done in college and then be on my way and be able to go to work.”

Sandburg further supports students like Guppy by offering flexible payment options. “They do an awesome thing where they do a payment period for people that can’t just pay tuition outright,” he notes.

The college’s dual-credit coordinators—Linda Thomas at the Carthage campus and Megan Jones at the Galesburg campus—work directly with high school counselors to create these opportunities. When students express interest in dual-credit courses not traditionally offered at their high school, these coordinators help develop personalized solutions.

This flexibility and willingness to provide solutions are some of the many ways Sandburg seeks to remove barriers to early college access.