Texas Tech University High School Hosts Commencement Ceremony

By Leslie Cranford, Section Manager

Texas Tech University High School, part of TTU K-12, hosted its annual commencement ceremony June 1 at the Museum of Texas Tech University.

During the 2018-2019 school year, more than 150 students completed their high school graduation requirements through TTU K-12. Of those graduates, 24 of them and their families attended the commencement ceremony on the Texas Tech campus. The graduates come from six states in the U.S. and five foreign countries: Arizona, Illinois, Missouri, Tennessee, Texas (76), Wisconsin, Brazil (65), Columbia, Egypt, Finland and South Korea. With the addition of this year's students, TTU K-12 has graduated 4,482 students since its inception in 1993.

This year's commencement speaker was Todd Chambers, associate professor and associate dean in the Texas Tech College of Media and Communication. The festivities included a special appearance by Texas Tech's mascot Raider Red.

Chambers encouraged the graduates attending and the many participating online to "limit the amount of time wasted on low-quality time stealers and focus time on creating high-quality interactions."

"I can't promise that by limiting the number of low-quality and increasing the number of high-quality interactions, or by realizing when you've got too much on your plate, or by respecting others, or taking risks, that you are going to be the most successful individual ever. But you will continue building your personal brand as someone that others respect as a leader, see as a professional and seek out as a role model," he said.

Graduate Chase Greer of Cypress, Texas, said his favorite part of attending school through TTU K-12 was being able to have a schedule that worked for him. He acts, sings and writes, and appeared in several commercials, musicals, plays and short films.

"It's just my mom and me, so being able to do classwork around my auditions, performances and family commitments was important. Having the support of my mom along with teachers and staff that were willing to assist me in reaching my goals was vital."

He plans on attending college in the fall and majoring in biomedical engineering, to become a research scientist or attend medical school.

The TTU K-12 Class of 2019 has exceptional college entrance test scores. Texas Tech High School students historically score higher than the national and state averages on these tests. The average SAT scores are 648 on the evidence-based reading and writing portion and 573 on the math portion, with an overall total SAT average of 1219. The average ACT composite score is 31.

Some of the colleges these students will attend are Texas Tech University, Abilene Christian University, Amarillo College, Arizona State University, Austin Community College, Baylor University, Blinn College, Collin County Community College, Colorado State University, DePaul University, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Inholland University of Applied Sciences, Kilgore College, Lone Star College, Manhattan School of Music, Middle Georgia State University, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Navarro College, New Mexico Military Institute, Pepperdine University, Rider University, Sam Houston State University, Southwestern Assemblies of God University, Tarleton State University, Texas A&M University, Texas Christian University, Texas State University, Trinity University, Universal Technical Institute, University of Houston, University of Houston-Clear Lake, University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, University of Oklahoma, University of Southern California, University of Texas at Austin, University of Texas at Dallas and University of Texas at San Antonio.

Established by the State Board of Education in fall 1993, TTU K-12 was designed to help students whose educational challenges were not being adequately met by traditional schools. Since then, it has grown to serve students across the country and in more than 70 countries around the world.

TTU K-12 is accredited by the Texas Education Agency, and the high school courses are approved by the NCAA. All courses and credit-by-exams are aligned with the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) curriculum and the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR).