Lauryn Bell is a 16-year-old ASU Prep Digital high school student who is pursuing her passions without limits—she is a competitive dancer taking advantage of ASU Prep’s flexible learning opportunities and now confirmed to graduate early this May with the Class of 2025.
Taking an accelerated path
Despite her young age, Lauryn’s dedication and accelerated learning have propelled her ahead of her peers. She credits her early success to a combination of accelerated programs, online learning and concurrent college-level courses through ASU Prep Digital.
“I haven’t always been this far ahead grade-wise, but I have participated in accelerated programs and schools throughout elementary and middle school,” Lauryn said. “When I switched to be online at 13, they started me in 9th grade a semester early which is when I really started to go ahead of my original path to graduation. After about a year I started taking concurrent classes through ASU Prep Digital, which allowed me to knock out my high school credits faster.”
Lauryn first enrolled at the ASU Preparatory Academy Polytechnic campus for 8th grade but said that the COVID-19 pandemic helped her realize she liked the online learning environment best. She decided to move to an online school and switched to ASU Prep Digital because of the academic freedom she would have and the fact that she was already familiar with the ASU Prep school system.
Balancing her passions
“Balancing my school life and social life is something that I found much easier once I moved online,” Lauryn said. “I have been in the competitive dance community for several years and spend about 15 hours at the studio weekly. I love being able to express myself through dance and the environment at my studio is something I am forever thankful for.”
With ASU Prep Digital’s flexible program, Lauryn has excelled in balancing her coursework and extracurricular activities, achieving high marks in her high school classes, impressive test scores and fulfilling graduation requirements ahead of schedule.
Her solid study habits and time management skills help her maintain this balance. “Having a planner that I use to schedule my workload has allowed me to visually see how much time I need to devote to school in a day and allows me to move things around to make room for other commitments or days off, for example,” she said. “One of my favorite things about being a student at ASU Prep Digital is all the independence I get. I love that I have control over my learning and can decide how involved I am with the teachers and how I get to make my own school schedule.”
Eyes on the future: Higher education and beyond
Another aspect of Lauryn’s journey includes engaging in college prep through concurrent college classes at Arizona State University, which she began at age 14. These concurrent courses allow students to earn college credit by exploring future majors as non-degree-seeking students, enabling them to graduate high school with a college transcript. ASU Prep offers this early college prep exposure to ensure students are well-prepared when transitioning to a university. Lauryn will have accumulated at least 21 ASU credits by the time she graduates.
“Once I graduate high school, I plan on continuing my college education at ASU,” she said. Lauryn recently was accepted into The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences to study psychology. “My first year, I am planning on taking hybrid classes at ASU. I would like to take a few courses in person, but I also want to keep my childhood as normal as possible, and doing some classes online will allow me to stay home and keep my extracurriculars. However, I am super excited to go into the dorms and have a normal college experience in a few years.”
Lauryn said her career goals may change but she has been interested in psychology as her college major for several years and is excited to see what internship opportunities may arise so she can learn more about different careers in the field. In the meantime, she looks back fondly at her tenure with ASU Prep Digital.
“One of my favorite memories at ASU Prep Digital is scheduling my first concurrent classes,” she said. “This was one of my biggest steps when it came to graduating early and such a unique and exciting experience. Another one of my favorites is when my mom got the call that I was able to graduate high school early. I truly didn’t know that I would be graduating this year until a few months ago and getting that call was such a surreal feeling. Both of these experiences have led to so many amazing things.”
The important role of mentors
Lauryn wants to thank her Learning Success Coaches for helping her on her educational journey and giving her the confidence to pursue her learning goals.
Learning Success Coaches play several roles, including school counselor, academic advisor, college and career advisor, emotional support counselor and academic coach.They support learners with course planning, college applications, college admissions process and more.
“My current Learning Success Coach, Terry Henry, has been with me for a few years now and has played a huge role in helping me advance faster and has given me access to so many incredible opportunities,” she said. “I am really grateful for this aspect of ASU Prep Digital.”
“It’s been a pleasure supporting her family at ASU Prep Digital,” said Henry, the Learning Success Coach assigned to Lauryn and her family. “Lauryn Bell is an outstanding senior. At 16 years old, and a member of the top 1% of the Class of 2025, she is one of the finest young people I’ve interacted with during my twenty-two years in education. Her intelligence and abilities to interact with others place her maturity level above that of other students across the state. She is one of the most conscientious and dependable young people, prepared to succeed at the collegiate level and beyond.”
Although she does try to be a positive role model to her younger brother and cousins, Lauryn said she wants them to see her for more than her academics.
“I try to be the best role model I can so they can feel more comfortable when it comes to making big goals and following through with the processes to reach them,” she said. “However, it is more important that they look up to me because of my personality and my relationship with them as well. I work hard in school, but I work even harder to be a good person outside of academics.”
Words of wisdom
For other students who are considering following in Lauryn’s footsteps, she said her best advice is, “find what works best for you. What works for me may not work for you…realizing if your current situation is not the most optimal is the first step in finding a path that truly works for you.”
Lauryn also recommended finding a path that allows students to be efficient without burning out.
“Burnout can be difficult to avoid in today’s world but I would recommend figuring out where your threshold is when it comes to school work,” she said. “At the end of the day, school is far from the most important thing in your life, and taking breaks and knowing yourself can make a person’s school life far less stressful. Not only is this healthier for the mind and body but, at least for me, I have noticed that I perform better when I am not overwhelmed with stress.”
She said, “I have been able to adapt my schooling to how I learn best which has played a huge role in getting me to where I am today. My biggest setback in my educational journey has been finding the right school for me. I bounced around many different elementary and middle schools looking for something that would allow me to grow and learn as much as possible while also not being super stressful or life-consuming. Once I found the right school, my education became less of a chore and more of an opportunity.”
ASU Prep Digital, Arizona’s leading K–12 online school, proudly supports students like Lauryn by offering flexibility and individualized learning that aids in college preparation, careers and life. Learn more about the enrollment process or attend an upcoming information session.
Written by: Stefanie Contreras
