Earning college degree has been part of Turner senior’s high school adventure
When Emma Vorholt goes out on job interviews, she’ll be able to tell people she received her first college degree before her high school diploma.
The Pearland resident accepted her associate’s degree in general studies from Alvin Community College May 20, a couple of weeks ahead of her June 5 graduation from Robert Turner College and Career High School.
“I feel like a lot of blood, sweat and tears went into it,” said Vorholt, 17. “Technically, I’ve been a full-time college student for the last two years. It’s been really hard, but it’s also been incredibly rewarding.”
Vorholt earned her degree and her diploma simultaneously during her junior and senior years by taking as many dual-credit courses as she could at Turner High School, which allows students to earn as many as 60 college credits while they’re there.
Before transferring to newly opened Turner High School from Pearland High School, Vorholt had been talking to her parents about the possibility of becoming a homeschooled student.
“I just wasn’t happy with the classes. It was worksheet after worksheet.”
Vorholt’s mom, Carey Vorholt, thought the opportunity to take college-level
courses at Turner would be a better fit for Vorholt. It turned out that she was right.
“I’ve had some great professors,” Vorholt said. “They taught me more than things like history. They helped me think about the kind of person I want to be.
“The associate’s degree was not the goal. I just wanted to take college classes.”
Not only has Vorholt stayed on top of her demanding academic school, she served this school year as president of Turner’s speech-and-debate club. For her, she said, the club has been a great experience.
“You get to talk a lot and be rewarded for it,” she said.
Vorholt also is a huge musical theater fan and has her eyes on a career as a professional makeup artist.
She knew she was in her element earlier last fall, when she got to do the makeup for the creature in Pearland High School’s production of “Frankenstein.”
“I love taking somebody and being able to turn them into a completely different person,” Vorholt said.
Her plans call for earning her bachelor’s degree in mass communications, with a concentration in advertising, from Sam Houston State University. From there, she hopes to train at Cinema Makeup School in Los Angeles.
“I want to learn makeup prosthetics like you see in ‘The Walking Dead,’” said Vorholt, who already is practicing her makeup skills on herself and her family.
“I made my little brother look like his fingers were cut off,” she said.
“He used to hate it, but now he likes it. My parents have gotten immune to it.”
Vorholt’s fascination with debate and theater is rooted in one of her first passions: reading.
“I love to read,” she said. “As a child, I broke my bookshelf because I put so many books on it.”
Vorholt said she never tires of exploring, whether it’s through a good book or by traveling. And because of her father’s military career, she’s already seen several regions of the United States.
She and her family lived for 10 years in Kodiak, Alaska, before relocating to Louisiana, and then to Pearland.
“My years in Kodiak and Pearland, just outside of Houston, helped shape who I am today,” Vorholt said.
“There are so many things I got to do in Kodiak I wouldn’t be able to do here. And at the same time, there are thing I do here I couldn’t do in Kodiak.”
Kodiak, on Kodiak Island in the Gulf of Alaska, provided opportunities for racing dirt bikes, hiking in the mountains and whale watching.
“It’s a very awesome place,” Vorholt said.
One of the first things that struck her about life in Pearland is how easy it is to drive just about anywhere she wants to go.
“In Kodiak, if you wanted to go to the mall, you had to fly there. And being next to a big city like Houston, you get to experience so much culture. I would never have been able to see so many Broadway musicals in Kodiak.”
If Vorholt could share her own experiences and life lessons up to now with incoming high school students, she would encourage them to devote themselves to their studies.
“Work hard from the start. Don’t blow off your freshman and sophomore year; those grades matter.
“Get involved with your community and maybe with a club or two at school. And don’t worry about having it all figured out.”
Vorholt is the daughter of Michael and Carey Vorholt and the sister of Allen, 20; Jessi, 13; and twins Nick and Matt, 11.