Teen to get college diploma before graduating high school

Graduates pause to make selfie pictures during commencement.

Credit: William Thomas Cain

Credit: William Thomas Cain

Graduates pause to make selfie pictures during commencement.

Talk about being an overachiever. A Gary, Indiana teen is going to graduate soon. But that’s not unusual. What is: She will graduate college weeks before graduating high school.

Raven Osborne, 18, will graduate from Purdue University Northwest Friday, then will graduate from 21st Century Charter High School on May 22, CBS Evening News reported.

How did she complete the feat? She attended college via online classes, year-round community college and two years at Purdue, with semester-long college classes equaling a year of high school credits.

Raven said that her sophomore year was the hardest, with five high school classes and four college classes.

But she's not the only one to take learning to the collegiate level. Everyone at the charter school is required to take college classes on a college campus to graduate. Five of Raven's 43 classmates have also attained associate's degrees, CBS Evening News reported.

And it was all free for Raven, as the founder of the charter school pays tuition and transportation for the college level classes for students thanks to state funding.

Raven will be back in the classroom in the fall, but she's not taking any more classes. Rather, she'll be shaping future 21st Century Charter alumni as a teacher, CBS Evening News reported.