 How much would you pay to earn college credit while still in high school? How much would you pay to get a jump start in beginning your college and career path? How much would you pay to invest in and take control of your future? How about paying nothing? Free. That's right. Free. You heard me. Free. Are you a middle school or high school student? Have you thought about going to college? Or what future job you might want when you grow up? It's a lot to figure out. College can also be very expensive. My name is Leslie and I'm here to tell you how the Community College of Vermont celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2020 can help get you started on a path towards a college and a career that's right for you through a number of free must-do opportunities during high school. That's right. You heard me say it again. Free. Parents and educators listen up too. The Community College of Vermont is here to support your kids get a jump start towards a college and career path at no cost to you. Welcome. Today I'm the Community College of Vermont's Take Control of Your Future. I have three real-life CCV students who use these free must-do opportunities to take control of their future. These real-life students are excited to share with you the opportunities they used to take control of their future. Let's learn about our first opportunity and what Dana did to take control of her future. Dana, welcome. Let's go back in time to when you were a middle school student that knew nothing about college or all the college jargon out there or what financial aid, credits, majors or degrees were. You didn't know what colleges and careers were out there in Vermont and beyond. What did you do? Well, I took control of my own future, Leslie. I attended a middle school access day at the Community College of Vermont where I attended many college classes and they taught me all about that college terminology and college and career options that were available for me to pursue in the state of Vermont and beyond. Plus it was really fun. They gave us pizza and we got to play games and all I had to do was talk to one of my middle school teachers or my principal. Wow, Dana, that's really impressive. If you attend a CCV middle school access day you will learn so much about college and career options. You have a second opportunity you wanted to share with us today? Yes, Leslie. I also took Introduction to College and Careers which is a class that I could take any time during high school and it taught me really valuable skills about how to navigate college and careers and also things like time management and test taking skills. And it was totally for free. That's right. You can take Introduction to College and Careers at any time during high school. You have really taken control of your future, Dana. Alright, let's look at our next opportunity. Jonathan, welcome. Let's go back in time to when you were a high school student. What did you do? I also took control of my future, Leslie. I used my two dual enrollment vouchers to take two courses at CCV. The vouchers allowed me to take college courses, earn college credit and explore my interests. I could have taken courses at any of the 12 CCV centers or online. I just had to be junior or senior in high school and had to ask my guidance counselor to help me register. And dual enrollment courses are free as well? That's right, Leslie. Two college courses for free. I'm really taking control of my future. That's amazing, Jonathan. Way to keep your eye on your future and take control. Let's check in on our last opportunity. Sydney, welcome. Thank you. Let's go back in time to when you were a capable, hardworking, high school student in Vermont. You also knew you wanted to go to college. What did you do? Hi, Leslie. I knew exactly what to do. I attended the community college of Vermont as an early college student. I took all my classes at CCV during my senior year and earned credits to graduate from high school and up to 30 college credits. It was worth thousands of dollars and got me way ahead in college. Plus, it was free. That's so fantastic, Sydney. These Vermont students are amazing. They took control of their future, and you can, too. To learn more about these free, must-do opportunities that the community college of Vermont offers to middle and high school students, visit gotocollegevt.org. Take control of your future for free.