Being a standout track and field athlete in High School can be tough. Training, classes, dating, prom, college applications, and the weather in Alaska all add to the pressure of performing well enough to try and earn a college scholarship to help pay for your future education. Add college courses to the mix and one can find themselves in a whirlwind of a senior year.
Enter Daquon Brunson; a recent Early Honors student who graduated from Bartlett High School this spring with a track scholarship to Washington State University (WSU). Daquon has been a familiar face on APU’s campus this year as he also took on a role as a student worker, working for Janitorial Services to earn some extra money to help pay for college. Outgoing and friendly, Daquon has been juggling a very full schedule as he was trying to enjoy his last year of high school and attend APU as an Early Honor’s student this year.
What made the Early Honor’s program attractive to Daquon in the first place, was that the Early Honors program was very flexible for his busy schedule. “The teachers and counselors understood that I had a busy schedule and that my senior year of athletics was important to me.” Daquon was able to earn good grades here at APU and perform well enough to set two Bartlett High track records in the 200m and 400m races.
Daquon felt that it was truly like a first year a college, by being in the EH program. There were multiple staff members and Faculty who helped him make good decisions about his future in higher education. He felt that he could talk to quite a few people about the questions that he had and about the experiences he would be having when he transferred to his college of choice out of state.
When asked about his favorite class at APU, Daquon mentioned that his Physics class was very enjoyable. “I was in the APU physics class and was having a hard time understanding a concept and then my professor, Luc Mehl, used an analogy about track and acceleration and the light bulb went off and I completely grasped the concept.” This is a great example of the APU faculty relating classroom concepts to topics that speak to the student’s outside interests. Daquon went even further to say that, “The professors went the extra mile and helped me out when I needed some assistance and I was able to utilize their office hours to get help on my homework.”
Daquon will be leaving his hometown of Anchorage sometime during the second week of August to pursue a degree in Engineering at WSU. He has been a great student, employee, and member of the APU community over the last year and we can only hope to have more students like him take advantage of the Early Honor’s opportunity here at APU. We here at APU wish you the best of luck with your journey at WSU.
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“I would recommend the EH program as an opportunity to attend High School and College at the same time and get the best of both worlds.”
