Gabby Garcia is from a long line of racehorse trainers. Her father was a trainer as well as her grandpa.

She has been working hard to work with horses as well, but oddly enough she doesn’t want to be a trainer. She wants to be a veterinarian for the horses. “I was always around racehorses. My mom would go to the race track when I was a baby and we would be there every Friday and Saturday. We would travel to different states. I’ve seen all sorts of things. That is what kept me interested with vets. The vets travel with these race horses and their trainers. They provide services for them. That’s all they do,” Gabby said.

She was interested in what kept the racehorse going, she believed that the racehorses could race longer if they were just adequately cared for. Many racehorses can race from two to 10 years old. But when they aren’t taken care of properly they end up only racing until age four, and then retire. Gabby wants to help these horses last as long as possible.

What made her want to be a veterinarian wasn’t only to understand how the horse kept going. “There was racehorse. We all loved him. He was fast and made a lot of money on his own. And he was this really funny horse. They can have huge personalities. It’s weird to think about but all they want to do is run. When they are in their stall, they are a completely different horse. He got sick. A vet went to the horse and he gave him the wrong medicine. He died that day. He was four years old. He had long career ahead of him. His life was stopped short that day,” Gabby said.

“I was like, I have to do something. I need to be able to fix that on my own. That’s what made me want to be a vet.”

Graduating early is the key to many early graduates’ success. It opens many doors for opportunities and options for adulthood. Many high school students decide to graduate early to pursue their postsecondary education and goals that allow them to enroll in college before their graduate class. 

Early Graduates plan to take the next big step in life and earn their college degree; the most significant benefit is the college’s ability to reduce the cost of higher education by applying the same approach, achieving graduation in less than three and a half years.

Taking a leap of faith and graduating early or finishing it out and walking that stage is a big decision, especially when it’s last minute. 

Kate Hanson had two days to decide if she should play for the Texas Tech Raiders volleyball team; or take a gap year and leave Weatherford High School behind her. 

By December, she decided to go early and start her life. She’s wrapped up all her credits. When asked if she’d recommend anything for people wanting to graduate early, she said, “I wish my parents would have put me in it (honors classes).” Some people have their life planned and are taking certain classes to graduate early, but some people, like Kate Hanson, just go with the flow and allowed it to happen.

Other students like Taylor are just ready to be done with high school entirely. 

“It feels like I’ve been in high school forever,” Taylor said. “I want to be a step ahead and feels that if she graduates early, she can get a head start on what she wants to do most, which is dentistry.”

 With her (age) daughter Wrenley, she doesn’t have the time to dedicate everything to school, so she says it will be a 50-50 lifestyle. Taylor will save 50% of her life for school and the other 50% for her daughter. 

“My final goal is to join TCU while doing Weatherford College at first. I want to do dental school and college, which would take eight years, which sounds long, but with the head start of graduating early, she will have a great career at the beginning of 25.” 

She is ready to succeed outside of high school and can’t wait to pursue her career in dentistry.

From a different school district to a new one, already having made a ton of credits, Tinley said that when she went to Azle, they had way more requirements than Weatherford; in fact, she said, “I think there were, like, even two less (extracurricular requirements) at Azle, so I already had like 11 or 12 extracurricular credits.” 

She left WHS and started working full-time to help with the cost and then was able to go to a college to focus on physiology and neuroscience. Tinley said what benefited her was taking honors or college classes.

 “I feel like if you can take college courses, do that,” She said.

High school might be enjoyable for some people, but for others, it can be stressful, too much to handle, and not all fun. Saylor didn’t enjoy it and wanted to walk the stage and move out of the house. She planned to go to Abilene Christian University for a phycology degree and then head to law school. Saylor has so earned many credits she was able to graduate last year. Believe it or not, she said, “I have so many, like more than enough,” so this year, she doesn’t need to stay. Though she’s leaving, she plans to come back and walk the stage.

 “I feel like it’s a big part of high school,” she said. Getting a head start on life is a good thing about leaving high school early. Some, like Saylor, don’t like high school and just want to leave it all behind. 

However, some people don’t want to go to college as early graduates. Kayleigh Jones has planned to become a flight attendant. “I want to be able to travel as a job, and work on an airplane,” said Kayleigh. This is a great career path, and she said it is what she has always wanted to do. She wants the benefits of being able to travel while still doing what she finds interesting.

Considering everything, graduating early in high school is crucial to significant success. But you do lose some experiences along with that. Sure starting a career ahead of time is great, but you miss out on the fun high school experiences. Like friends, events, and other marvelous things that can be experienced. Nevertheless graduating early is a very important key to success. Not only does it offer more opportunities for an earlier education in college, but it can also help start your future ahead of time. It’s a guaranteed jump start to success and can help you create your career. It is possible by walking to the stage a little bit early and working hard from there.