Last updated on August 26, 2024
Elijah Harrington doesn’t remember exactly how it came up when he was interviewing for a job with Teach For America, but his age became a talking point nonetheless. After all, he’s a 20-year-old with a bachelor’s degree.
“I said something like, ‘Graduating college at 20 has really taught me a lot,’” Harrington said. “And they were all like, ‘What do you mean? You’re 20?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m 20. 2-0.’”
Credit Dallas College’s Dual Credit Program for making it happen.
Harrington was part of the 2021 class, earning his associate degree at age 17. Then, after starting his bachelor’s degree at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Harrington returned to DFW and finished his bachelor’s in psychology at the University of Texas at Dallas last May.
Now, it’s on to the next chapter and his age revelation didn’t hurt his application by any stretch with Teach For America. Instead, the administrators were impressed and felt he could relate better than most to elementary school students.
So, Harrington landed a third-grade teaching position with a Houston-based elementary school and starts his teaching career this Fall.
Dallas College Lessons
Harrington looks back on his Dallas College days fondly. It’s where he learned how to truly become a student, one that was proactive in reaching out to professors on various issues compared to being reactive. He also developed resiliency by being a dual-credit student.
Specifically, Harrington recalled taking an accounting class, a subject that is not in his wheelhouse. However, he managed to pass the class by using the resources available to him.
“That class really taught me to keep pushing,” he said. “Everything isn’t going to come like second nature, and that’s OK. Just study and, like I said, keep pushing.”
Another lesson Harrington talked about is the importance of adapting to change. He went through the dual-credit program during the COVID-19 pandemic and had to find ways to maintain his studies in a remote environment.
“Everything isn’t always going to remain the same,” Harrington said. “You have to be open to change and I feel that prepared me for my time at Morehouse and then UTD. Change isn’t always a bad thing.”
In the end, Harrington had a positive experience and is proud to become one of the many success stories from the community college ranks.
“When I’m talking to people, one of the first things I talk about is graduating high school with my associate degree,” he said. “I take pride in being a community college product because it took hard work, and the hard work paid off.”
That is the message Harrington would send current and prospective students too — the hard work will pay off.
“Take the classes seriously, please,” he said. “Not taking the classes seriously in the beginning can really come back to bite you toward the end of the semester when you’re trying to get that grade up. Another piece of advice is to finish the program and go all the way through, or go as far as you possibly can.”
Harrington would know as he opened up in talking about his own experience. Sadly, his mother passed away during his first semester at Morehouse. That eventually led him to return home and transfer to UTD.
Fortunately, he was able to not fall too far behind in his college career thanks to having an associate degree from Dallas College.
“I was basically a semester behind after that and trying to play catch up,” he said. “If I didn’t have my credits from Dallas College, I would have been an entire year behind. But, because I had my associate degree, I was able to transfer all of those hours.
“Not only was I able to get back on track, but I still graduated at the age of 20. You can’t do that if you don’t take your classes seriously and don’t take advantage of the opportunity.”
Paying It Forward
Today, Harrington is excited to teach the next generation of students. His time at Dallas College is a significant reason why he’s becoming an educator.
“In my time at Dallas College, I learned how important your education is,” he said. “Your education is one of the few things that can’t be taken away from you no matter what.”
This story and others like it can be found in the Student Newsletter. Check your Dallas College email to see the latest edition.