Meet LPS Focus Program Senior: Brandon, Early College and Career STEM

April 11, 2025

The mission of Lincoln Public Schools is to prepare ALL students for successful careers, lifelong learning and civic engagement.

High school graduation is a culmination of our scholars' and educators' hard work toward this significant milestone. 

The LPS Focus Programs’ core values of exploration, education, engagement and empowerment are beliefs rooted in the overall LPS mission and the school district’s commitment to high school graduation. 

Read how senior Brandon used the Early College and Career STEM program to Launch at LPS in this Q&A. 

 

Name: Brandon

Grade: 12

Home High School: Northeast

Focus Program: Early College and Career STEM

Why did you choose the Early College and Career STEM program?

I chose the Early College and Career STEM program at Northeast because I was interested in knowing what college was like. I found out that the program also gave credits for high school and college, so I decided to take that class. I was also interested because of the things I was going to learn since the program was based on science and decision-making. I always liked science and having a class to learn something different and beneficial seems like the right choice to take the class for me.

How did the Early College and Career STEM program change your high school experience?

This focus program changed my high school experience by giving me a different way to do school. I was able to go to East Campus at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln on Tuesdays and Thursdays to take the class with college students. Getting to meet people from Northeast and take the class with them was something new I got to experience. As a senior, I felt like I wasn't involved in school as much as I would've wanted, so taking this focus program made me feel like I was getting more involved with my school.

What is the greatest lesson you learned from the Early College and Career STEM program? Why?

The greatest lesson I learned was to try out new things and not give up. I learned this because at first, I didn't know if I was going to be good enough to take the college class.  I decided to stay in the class and try to give my best effort to learn and get the best grade I could. Taking the class was worth it since I got my credits for high school and now I have college credits. All that because I was able to not give up and try out something new. 

How did the Early College and Career STEM program help you reach your graduation goals?

This focus program helped me reach my graduation goals because I needed one more science class and the Early College and Career STEM program did that for me. I was able to take the Early College and Career STEM program college class and get the credits for the class I needed. 

 What are your post-graduation plans?

My post-graduation plans are to work and go to college.

How did the Early College and Career STEM program help prepare you for those post-graduation plans? 

This focus program helped me prepare for my post graduation plans because I'm more ready to go into college and have a view of what college is going to look like. I already have some credits from college so that gives me the motivation to keep going and learning more.

How did the Early College and Career STEM program help prepare you for the future?

It helped me prepare for my future because it made me plan for career paths. I also got college credits for a science class. It gave me motivation to try new things and also focus on things that I'm already interested in. Now I feel like I am prepared for the future since I know what college is going to look like. I got to work with new people and I think that helped me have more communication, and I think that is really important. 

What are you most thankful about this experience? Why?

I'm thankful to get college credits and my high school science credits. I'm also thankful I got to meet new people and work with them. I got to be in a college class with college students and learn the same things they learned. I got to improve and learn so many skills in this class, so I am really thankful to have done this focus program.

Congratulations, Brandon!

We wish you the best in your future endeavors. We are thankful our educators could help you Launch at LPS!

Choose your passion. Choose your community. Choose your future with LPS Focus Programs. 

 

Editor’s note: Earlier this semester, the University of Nebraska - Lincoln College of Agricultural Science and Natural Resources (CASNR) and Lincoln Public Schools (LPS) announced plans to expand the Early College and Career STEM program next school year. 

Currently, the focus program explores career fields related to Food, Water, Energy, and Societal Systems (FEWSS) and is offered only at Northeast High School as an embedded program. After an extensive review of the program and its benefits for students, UNL and LPS decided to move this opportunity out of a traditional embedded focus program offering and expand the opportunities across the school district in every high school. 

Learn more about the expansion of the Early College and Career STEM courses on our website at https://www.lps.org/post/detail.cfm?id=15611.

You can visit the LPS Focus Programs webpage at home.lps.org/focus to get more information about other focus program offerings.

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