When Minot High senior Sophia Bell walks across the commencement stage Sunday to collect her diploma, it will be her second walk and second diploma this month.

Bell is the first graduate in the Minot school system to earn a college associate degree while completing her high school studies. She received her Beyond Associate of Science through the Leading to Education and Advanced Preparation (LEAP) program at Dakota College at Bottineau on May 15. DCB confirmed Bell is its first Minot LEAP Beyond graduate to earn an associate degree.

Bell said that although Minot High has worked with Minot State College on dual credit courses, courses from DCB weren’t offered when she started high school. Through friends from area schools, Bell said, she and her mother learned about the opportunities through DCB, which is affiliated with MSU, and researched the requirements to access two-year college programs. They then approached the school administration.

“My teachers and my principals have been so supportive about it. It was challenging to figure it out and see how the classes connected to our curriculum, but we figured it out,” Bell said.

Bell explained that sophomores at the former Central Campus, like herself, could take honors classes at Minot High’s Magic City Campus to access advanced coursework. She took one advanced placement class as a sophomore.

When she became a junior and the high school split into two four-year schools at Minot High and Minot North, honors and advanced classes were reserved for seniors.

By enrolling in DCB’s LEAP program, Bell was able to add college-level courses into her schedule, starting as a junior.

Bell said she plans to continue her education at Pepperdine University, a private school in Malibu, California, which accepted 64 of her 68 DCB credits to enable her to enroll as a junior. She intends to study biology, with an interest in potentially going on to medical school.

Having the associate degree will advance her education more quickly and increase the cost savings already experienced in earning the degree while in high school, Bell said.

Her DCB courses were online and were completed in conjunction with the classes she took at Minot High.

“It was really easy and flexible for my schedule,” she said of her classes this year. Her junior year was busier due to a heavier load of college courses. She also took college courses over two summers.

Despite the workload, she was able to participate in orchestra, tennis and diving at Minot High as well as travel and compete with Minot Dance Alliance. Over Christmas break, she traveled to Massachusetts for a dance program and attended an intensive at Julliard.

Bell said she enjoyed her time with DCB.

“The professors were so amazing. If you had any questions, they would answer in a few hours. They were great. Online classes were, again, so flexible with my schedule. That was one of the best parts about it,” she said.

Online classes were challenging at first because of the independent learning required, but she said it helped prepare her for the more rigorous college environment.

“It’s so important to advocate for the associate’s degree,” Bell said. “A lot of students don’t even know about it.

“I want to get it out to more people because it’s such a great opportunity, especially for students who are wanting to do accelerated education and go to college,” she said. “It would change people’s lives. It’s changed mine.”