KOLEGRAFF URGES HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS TO ‘WORK HARD, PLAY HARD’

It was curiosity that prompted Keli Kolegraff to investigate the prospect of enrolling in college classes while she was in high school.

She had heard of another student at Okoboji High School who was taking college credit classes and wanted to see what college classes were like.

“If you’re even remotely curious about taking college classes – do it! Get as much out of the way before starting college as you can so that once you’re there, you can actually focus on the things you want to learn,” Kolegraff urges high school students.

It was this curiosity that enabled her to start taking advantage of the Postsecondary Enrollment Option (PSEO) at Iowa Lakes Community College while a sophomore at Okoboji High School. During the school year she attended classes at the Spirit Lake Campus and during the summer at the Estherville Campus. High school graduation and college graduation were both in May of 1999 when she earned an Associate in Arts Degree from Iowa Lakes Community College.

“Having the Associate Degree under my belt really helped out when I started (at the) university,” she stated.

The PSEO program at Iowa Lakes Community College allows high school students to attend classes on any of the five campuses and earn concurrent high school and college credit. The tuition, fees and books are paid by the student’s school district.

Kolegraff shared that in high school she liked science, math and Spanish. In college she realized that chemistry was “my thing” and became involved with research projects that addressed organic water pollutants and how to get rid of them.

The next stop after high school and college graduation was to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md. There she majored in chemistry and Hispanic studies and graduated in May 2002. Kolegraff is currently a medical student at the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Ga. She would like to spend time working in Latin America after completing medical school.

When asked about her key to success in school and life, she commented,
“An open mind, a sense of humor, and the ‘work hard, play hard’ attitude that means things get done when they need to get done, but after that, it’s time to relax for a bit. Find something that you love doing so that working hard isn’t something that is a chore, but something you want and are excited about doing.”

She is the oldest of seven children of Dr. Ronald and Jill Kolegraff. They live near Milford.

Additional information about PSEO and other programs at Iowa Lakes Community College may be obtained online at www.iowalakes.edu or by calling the nearest campus.