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By JOYANNA LOVE/ Managing Editor

A new dual enrollment program, Auburn First, has become available for Chilton County Schools students to take classes through Auburn University.

Samantha Turner, who is a sophomore, was the first Jemison High School student to enroll in the program, and will be starting her first online class on Jan. 12.

The opportunity is one that she has been looking forward to.

“We thought about it a while ago, but it wasn’t open to our county area,” Turner said. “So, when it was, we immediately hopped on it.”

Participation in the program was approved by the Chilton County Board of Education to allow the classes to fulfill high school credits.

Samantha’s mom Laura said they had been researching the program prior to the board approval.

For her first class, Samantha Turner chose a fine arts class, which would fulfill a core college requirement.

“We will be reviewing plays and watching things together and going over them,” Samantha Turner said.

American Government is another course she is considering for the future.

Picking a course “that might be fun” was a consideration for the first one.

“That was the biggest thing that she have a good experience with the first course,” Laura Turner said.

To apply to the program, students are required to submit their high school transcripts and a letter of recommendation from their school.

Laura Turner said the staff at Auburn “were so good to work with” as they tried to decide on a first course.

“I get a lot of advantages with Auburn First,” Samantha Turner said.

Just like on campus students, she has a Tiger Card student ID, which gives her access to the libraries, and receives access to free tutoring.

Students who pass six credit hours in the program with a 3.0 GPA by Aug. 15 of their senior year receive automatic admission to Auburn University.

Samantha Turner said having this automatic admission option makes taking the ACT “less stressful.”

She hopes to take a course each semester until her second semester senior year.

Laura Turner said another benefit of the program is a lower cost for the college credits.

While she is unsure the specific career she wants, Samantha Turner knows she wants to do something in the medical field and plans on being a pre-med major.

“I am very interested in cardiology, but that could change,” Samantha Turner said.

She said she has been interested in the medical field from a young age. Her mom said her father being a paramedic was a part of this interest growing.

More information about Auburn First is available at auburn.edu/academic/provost/dualenrollment/ .