Honorable Mention Winner
Nathan Wadlinger
Indian River Community College
Sophomore in Business Administration/Economics
3.40 GPA

At Indian River Community College, one student proves that you're never too young to make an impact. At 17, Nathan Wadlinger is the first dual-enrollment student in the IRCC honors program. This academic pioneer will earn both his associate in arts degree and his high school diploma this June. Wanting to spread his success, he recruits new dual-enrollment students in three Florida counties and has started a committee to appeal for weighted dual-enrollment courses in St. Lucie County. Wadlinger speaks at various high schools and encourages students to take dual-enrollment classes at IRCC. "Many high school students have joined dual enrollment because of my influence," he says.

Last June, Wadlinger began his first college semester with a heavy load of 21 credit hours. Adding to his already challenging schedule, within his first year at IRCC he joined more than 10 clubs and organizations and became president of both the Dual-Enrollment Club and the Honors Club. This business/economics major also became secretary of a business club call Phi Beta Lambda. "I noticed that most other dual-enrollment students at IRCC didn't participate in any extracurricular activities at the college," he says. "I wanted to become active."

Outside of school, Wadlinger took on even more responsibilities as a cadet officer in the Civil Air Patrol, an auxiliary of the Air Force. In the seven years he's been part of the CAP, he's put in more than 500 community service hours.

In short, Wadlinger's attitude toward extracurricular activities can best be summed up by Dr. Judy Wright, the Phi Beta Lambda advisor. "'Even though academics are important, I think that school/community involvement is more important,'" she says, quoting Wadlinger himself. "What better sentiment can a future business leader have than to give back to his community?"

Give back to the community is just what Wadlinger did. Concerned about the mere .4-point weight that was traditionally added on to students' GPAs for dual enrollment, he asked his high school's assistant principal of academics about adding more weight to dual-enrollment courses. He was told that any additional weight would take two years for the St. Lucie County School Board to approve. Wadlinger, however, wasn't phased. He then met with the dean of the honors program at IRCC, who referred him to Melissa Tedder, the enrollment manager. With her encouragement, Wadlinger began promoting dual enrollment and the honors program at various high schools in the area. While he publicized the dual-enrollment program at IRCC, he started a committee to approve the additional weight—even though he himself wouldn't benefit from the change. "I know that in the future many students will go after the dual enrollment and the honors program at IRCC because of the extra weighting I tried to get from high school," he says.

What Wadlinger started will one day benefit dual-enrollment students at his high school. Garnering more than 800 signatures from the faculty at IRCC and various high schools, he has set in motion an appeal that will benefit future achievers like himself. Once dual-enrollment courses carry more weight, IRCC's dual-enrollment program should carry more appeal.

Wadlinger's high school, Fort Pierce Central High School, pays 100 percent of his dual enrollment expenses.—LH

Contact Wadlinger at eckohomie2003@yahoo.com.