Student Advises Others To Give SVCC Dual Enrollment a Chance
Sean Bugg believes students who have the opportunity should definitely give dual enrollment a chance.
 Dual enrollment courses are college courses that carry credit at both the high school and college level and are offered by Southside Virginia Community College in this area. Classes are paid for by the local public schools (and some private schools) so this saves tuition money for parents. Credit for dual enrollment courses is generally accepted at all Virginia private and public colleges, courses are taught by full or part-time faculty who meet Virginia Community College System and the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools credentialing requirements.
Bugg is a graduate of Park View High School who is in his second year at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.
“We all know the college admissions process is draining emotionally and physically on students. In my own academic career, I began looking at colleges as soon as I began my freshman year of high school,” Bugg said.
He continued, “Eventually I settled on the University of Virginia. Personally, the Governor’s School of Southside Virginia (which carries SVCC dual enrollment credit) made the biggest positive impact on me academically. All of my instructors (Mrs. Paynter, Dr. Williams, Mr. Wilson, Mr. Overby, and Dr. Hurt), were tremendously influential in nurturing my young mind. When they were finished with me, I was completely ready to embrace a wonderfully new world. And, I was 35 credit hours ahead of most of my fellow undergraduates at UVa (practically 2 ½ semesters!).”
Since going to the University, Bugg has been able to follow his passions and excel quite well at them. He is working towards a double major in English Language and Literature and German Language and Literature. In March, he is boarding a Lufthansa flight from Dulles International Airport and flying (for the first time) across the Atlantic to study for a semester in Germany.
“Had I not chosen to do Governor’s School, I would not have had the opportunity to find, learn, and love a new language. Dr. Hurt once told me to take any opportunity life threw at me and run with it, because I might never get it again,” Bugg said.
One thing he learned in Governor’s School is time management and this lesson has paid off in college. As a result, he is able to march as a Tuba player in the University of Virginia Cavalier Marching Band-an organization that has grown from nothing to just shy of 300 members in five years.
SVCC has the largest Dual Enrollment program in the state of Virginia. The college partners with 15 secondary institutions to offer this advantage to students in its service region. This important program can only be offered due to the great cooperation of the local division superintendents, noted Dr. John J. Cavan, President of SVCC.
Bugg has some sage advice for students in Southside Virginia considering the opportunities offered to high schoolers by the local community college.
He said, “In short, the lessons you will learn at Governor’s School are not just academic, they are life lessons. Oh, and did I mention that I won a full tuition scholarship for my second year of college? Yeah-you definitely should give Dual-Enrollment a chance.”
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