COLUMBUS, Ohio — The typical pathway for most teenagers is to graduate high school before moving onto college.

What You Need To Know

  • Kaylee Burgess Lebron is a 15-year-old student 

  • She graduated college before high school 

  • She wants to pursue a career in cosmetology following her mother

But in recent years, there have been more and more cases of students earning a college degree while they’re still in high school.

According to the Ohio Department of Higher Education, more than 4,000 high schoolers did just that between 2016 and 2023.

Kaylee Burgess Lebron is a 15-year-old college graduate.

“I’m really excited to be graduating so young,” said Kaylee Burgess Lebron, a Columbus State Community College Graduate.

At just 12 years old she enrolled as a college freshman at Columbus State Community College.

Three years later, during her Sophomore of High School, she’s earned an associates degree.

“It was really hard to do during high school because I would do my classes during school, and then I would get home and have a ton of homework to do from both schools,” Burgess Lebron said.

In the grand scheme of things, there aren’t many people who accomplish what Kaylee has done, but over the last few years, it’s become more and more common.

According to the most recent data from the Ohio Department of Higher Education, about 700 high schoolers in the state have earned a college degree during each of the last three school years.

That number is nearly triple what it was back in 2016, and even includes three people who earned Bachelor’s degrees while still in high school.

The state’s College Credit Plus program gives students the opportunity to earn college credit while they’re still in high school.

According to the chancellor of the department, it can help students save more than $30,000, and gives them opportunities to explore careers they might otherwise may never have.

“When I was little, I always loved doing my makeup,” Burgess Lebron said.

For Kaylee that is a career in Cosmetology, taking after her mom. 

“I always loved having her do my hair, and so I used to go to work with her all the time when I was little so I guess I sort of looked up to her in a way,” Burgess Lebron said.

Burgess Lebron is in a cosmetology program at C-TEC in Newark.

And her mother, Christina, said she’s extremely proud of her daughter. 

“Kaylee’s very determined," Christina Lebron said. "Very strict, I think she was the only 10-yea-old I knew that had a vision board, and she knew exactly what she wanted to do."

“My friends think it’s crazy, they’re proud of me, they think it’s a great goal to have, and so does my family, they’re really proud of me,” Burgess Lebron said.