August 6, 2026
Story and photo by Joe Vinduska
High school students are busy people. Between sports, activities, and spending time with friends, the thought of getting a jump start on college can seem like a lot. That didn’t stop Otis-Bison High School student Louis McVey. He was able to juggle it all and graduate as valedictorian with his diploma as well as an associate degree, thanks to Barton’s Early College Opportunities.
“I had just taken classes during my junior year to try and give myself an academic challenge,” he said. “At the beginning of my senior year that summer, I realized that it was within reach and I wanted to commit to it.”
McVey was committed to earning his degree but didn’t want to miss out on any of his high school experience in the process.
“Throughout high school, I took advantage of every opportunity that I had,” he said. “At Otis-Bison, because it's a smaller school, I could be in every club, play every sport, and because of what Barton has to offer, I was also able to take a very high load of college courses. So for me, it was just committing time, prioritizing things properly, and committing myself and having the right priorities for what I truly cared about.”
Throughout his journey, McVey could rely on the support staff at Barton whenever he needed assistance.
“Barton supports high school students very well,” he said. “They have a system in place. I wasn't their first high school student to ever want to take a college class. They know the difficulties that high school students are going to have, so they know what help is needed.”
Barton Director of Early College Opportunities Karly Little said the program is designed to fit in with the busy lives of high school students.
“High school students can get started in so many different ways, whether they're on campus, in their high school building, or online,” she said. “We have offerings happening at our campus locations. Students can take them at their high school. A lot of times, they can easily add our online classes to their high school schedule because those classes do not have set meeting times, so they can work on those whenever they have extra space in their schedule.
McVey will attend Washington University in St. Louis this fall and plans to work in healthcare eventually.
“I want to be an emergency medicine physician because of the commitment to service,” he said. “A lot of people have served me throughout my life, and I know the impact that’s had on me and things I wouldn't be able to do without that. So, I want to be able to help people the same way that people have helped me.”
To learn more about Barton’s Early College Opportunities, visit highschool.bartonccc.edu.