Warren Early College students build Award-winning booth

Students at Warren Early College High School recently won the third-place ribbon for their booth at the 2008 Warren County Fair (pictured above). According to Danylu Hundley, the principal of the high school located at Vance-Granville Community College’s Warren County Campus , it was a team effort.

Just two weeks prior to the fair, Hundley was not sure how or if her school would pull off creating a booth. But thanks to the help of a few parents and student volunteers, the prize-winning informational display came together. “The students got creative,” Hundley said. “They were the catalysts, deciding what to do and how to do it. I realized what they could accomplish when given a task.”

Hundley said the booth, which employed the theme “Every Student College-Ready,” did not cost “one penny” to produce, thanks to volunteers and donations from businesses. One parent donated her square cap, or mortarboard, from the old Norlina High School to represent graduation. “I was really proud of the process as much as the product,” Hundley said. “The thing I enjoyed most was seeing the students come together as a school and as a team.”

Hundley recalled that the booth took eight hours to put up, and only 12 minutes to take down once the fair ended. “When they weren’t busy, they even helped other exhibitors with their booths!” she said.

At WECHS , the students — all ninth-graders — take both high school and college-level credit classes. At the end of a five-year period, students have the opportunity to graduate from WECHS with both a high school diploma and either a two-year college degree or two years of college-transfer credit. VGCC has partnered with the Warren County public schools on WECHS and with the Vance County public schools on a similar Early College high school on the college’s main campus.