Two Degrees of Success

08/02/2024

When the COVID pandemic robbed Cassidy Shaffer of her spring semester as a freshman and her full sophomore year at Imagine Prep high school in Surprise, Arizona, it was a set-back, without question. She was also sidelined from the various activities she was involved in, like student council, journalism, and cheer.

After a unique virtual learning experience that spring, Shaffer began to adapt, and eventually she embraced the educational flexibility the online classroom offered. In fact, with extra time on her hands due to the COVID restrictions, it was just before her sophomore year that she began to take full advantage of the format by enrolling in online college courses at Rio Salado College. Throughout that year, she took three college courses a semester while simultaneously completing her virtual high school curriculum.

Shaffer realized she was on to something.

When she returned to in-person school her junior year, she continued with her college courses, despite resuming many of the activities she had to abandon during the pandemic. She added even more her senior year, serving on the yearbook staff and as student council president. But the rigor of Shaffer's diverse pursuits suited her learning style, and it soon became her new norm. Even her summers were devoted to taking college courses.

Her principal, Chris McComb, took notice. "During COVID, Cassidy demonstrated a knack for working independently while showing an advanced level of maturity and intrinsic motivation that was well beyond her years," he said. "She is no stranger to hard work and perseverance and is successful because she simply outworks her peers."

As a senior, Shaffer knew it was time to start thinking about the next educational step - where to earn her bachelor's degree. Since nearly everyone in her family had attended Arizona State University, she assumed that would also be her path, so she applied during the fall of her final year - and waited.

In the meantime, one of Shaffer's former Imagine Prep teachers, OUAZ Director of Marketing Ben Andree, returned to the school with OU's Chief Enrollment Officer Dr. Brian Sandusky to meet with select students and explain the University's Pathway Program that allows highly motivated high school students to simultaneously earn a bachelor's and master's degree.

"In mid-October, I got called to Mr. McComb's office to participate in a meeting with Mr. McComb, Mrs. Mecca [counselor], Mr. Andree, and Dr. Sandusky," she shared. "We talked about the [Pathway Program and] Spirit Life events that occur every Wednesday at Ottawa and some alterations that could be made to benefit the students. It wasn't until Mr. Andree gave me an Ottawa University t-shirt that I decided I should apply there and give it a try."

Shaffer applied that same day. "I selected to major in business and to participate in the leadership program," she noted. "The next day I received a call and was told that I could get an amazing scholarship and so many opportunities with the programs I selected. I was so surprised because I had applied to ASU months ago, and still no word."

By the time Shaffer graduated from Imagine Prep in 2023, she had earned 40 college credits, which made her a perfect candidate for what came next. "A little later I was offered a position in the MBA program with the opportunity to receive my bachelor's and master's degrees in business administration in three years," she said. "The [Pathway] program offered everything that I needed."

With an expected graduation date of December 2025, Shaffer will hold two degrees in just over two years out of high school. Still highly ambitious and hard-working, she plans to push the envelope even further. "I believe I can finish my graduate courses before then," she asserted. "I am going to try to finish as early as May of 2025, but we will see!"

"Cassidy has always been an insightful and intellectual person," said Andree. "She was a stellar student and became a pioneer in the Pathway Program. She is now the program's posterchild, exemplifying all the traits that we look for in those taking advantage of this accelerated educational opportunity."

Though Shaffer isn't exactly sure what career path her future holds, earning two degrees in two years has put her on the fast track for figuring it out. "I've always known I wanted to be some sort of manager or a project organizer," she said. "Even though I do not have the specifics yet, I know that I the love being in business. I want to work in an industry that offers challenges as well as beneficial feedback and opportunities to consistently improve my skills and character."

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.