Accelerated education: engineering student’s fast track to college degree
Justin Jordan
Posted March 22, 2013
At 18, many college students are still undecided about their major. So Justin Jordan is a bit ahead of the game. Actually, a lot more than a bit ahead. The 18-year-old Arizona State University chemical engineering major is set to graduate this semester.
And he’s already enrolled in the accelerated “4 plus 1” program in ASU’s Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering that will enable him to earn a master’s degree next year.
Jordan’s achievement caught the eye of a local television news reporter, who produced a short feature on his speedy journey through undergraduate studies.
Growing up in Phoenix and Scottsdale, Jordan earned his high school diploma taking courses at Gateway Early College High School at Gateway Community College and Primavera, an online high school. He got through those studies in two years and earned 45 college credits by age 15.
He considered attending a number of universities, including Stanford, but decided he liked ASU’s “ever-improving engineering program.”
It was a high school teacher at Gateway that influenced his choice of a major. “He got me interested in chemistry and was able to keep me interested, which is a feat itself, given my short attention span,” Jordan says.
See the ABC New15 feature about Jordan.
