Summer 2012 high school graduates through the Connect to College program at Tri-County Technical College are pictured here, from left to right, Carly Heventhal (T.L Hanna High School); Lewis Jones (Pickens High School); Connor Mann (Pendleton High School); Cooper Brady (Pickens High School); Caitlyn LeFevre (Pendleton High School); Shannon Turpin (Crescent High School); Stephanie Rousseau (Pendleton High School); and Donta Mattison (Belton-Honea Path High School).  Not pictured are Ryan Roberts (T.L. Hanna High School) and Lindsay Hendricks (Pendleton High School).

The program’s purpose is to serve academically capable youth age 17 to 20 who, for various reasons, have not been successful in a traditional high school environment but who have career goals that require postsecondary education.  Using a dual credit model, students earn both high school and college credit and may simultaneously complete both the high school diploma (meeting all requirements of the South Carolina Department of Education) and a postsecondary credential (meeting all requirements of Tri-County Technical College).