Leaving ‘family’ at school

Hal Golson was just another face in the crowd. He had friends in high school, but not many. He knew people, but not many knew him. He didn’t know much about his principal, and his teachers probably didn’t know much more about him that couldn’t be found in a file.

But when he transferred to the Orange Coast Middle College High School, he wasn’t another youth, filed away in the clutter of a large high school — he was a part of a family.

“At my other high school I wasn’t really popular,” Golson said. “[At the Middle College] there is drama, and we might have to all hear it since we all are basically friends with everyone, and so we might have to hear it a little more.

“But because we are like this family, it is really nice. We all support each other.”

Orange Coast Middle College High School celebrated its 10th commencement ceremony Thursday at OCC’s Robert B. Moore Theater for the class of 2008 — a total of 46 graduating seniors.

The boisterous ceremony was filled with family and friends who were able to cheer on their graduates in an intimate atmosphere unheard of at most high school graduations. The graduates enjoyed the limelight as when receiving their diplomas with baby pictures and quotes of their choosing projected for the audience to enjoy.

The commencement’s style was a testament to the unique education the middle college has to offer.

“It takes a certain type of person to go to the Middle College,” Golson said. “You have to be mature and self driven — people who actually like learning.”

All the seniors at the school graduated, but that isn’t all they accomplished. Students at the school also had to take courses at OCC and some, like Golson, are already sophomores in college after graduating high school.

“It’s a lot of hard work,” Jennifer Engblom, 18, said. “It takes persistence and determination — and family to back you up.”

Originating with support for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, after 15 years the Middle College-Early College National Consortium now includes 31 schools, which follow the philosophy that intends to increase access to higher education for underserved students.

The school focuses on small class sizes and hands-on learning, with a personal touch from the staff and students. Many students refer to their teachers or principal as friends and have shared more than a simple education with them. Many greeted Principal Bob Nanney with a hug or high-five at the ceremony.

“I will remember all the times we have randomly got a lunch, sometimes with or without a staff member, but it’s a great time,” Golson said. “My school is definitely a family, and I will be looking back on those lunch experiences that I have had. Those were the real family times that I have had at the middle college.”