Balancing the life of both a high school and college student, Diamond Bar High School senior Rhiston Yu will graduate this year with both his high school diploma and two associate’s degrees from Fullerton College.

Yu, enrolled at both DBHS and Fullerton College, began taking college courses two years ago, hoping to take a few college courses to save tuition money for his parents. Then Yu realized that if he took on more classes, he would be able to graduate and earn his associate’s degrees by his senior year in high school.

“I wanted to accomplish something that no one else had done before at Diamond Bar High School,” Yu said.

In the summer of 2016, Yu simply called Fullerton College’s admissions office to ask how he could enroll and since then has been taking classes. Requirements include meeting a GPA requirement and applying for approval from both schools. This May, Yu will earn two degrees, one in Business Administration and the other in Economics.

Because he is still a high school student, Yu often has last priority in choosing college courses. Despite not being able to have first choice in every class, he still enjoys college because of the wide variety of people that attend and, fortunately, because of the classes that are required for his degree that interest him. He also has to manage a heavy workload consisting of assignments from both schools.

“In college, you have to be responsible for yourself,” Yu said. “Your parents can’t call in for you if you’re sick, and there are no excuses for being late.”

Through careful planning and time management, Yu has been able to enjoy free time and extracurricular activities.

“I have sacrifices that I occasionally have to make,” Yu said. “Planning my schedule ahead of time is very important.”