Class of 2024: Cap and gown pickups begin April 15 at the Harriman and Oak Ridge bookstores. Bookstore hours are 8am-4:30pm ET Monday-Thursday. Visit the commencement ceremony webpage for additional info.
Cole Ayres, Morgan County’s first Middle College graduate, is flanked by Dr. Chris Whaley, Roane State president, and Michelle Adkisson, director of the college’s Morgan County campus.
May 11, 2017
By Bob Fowler
Roane State staff writer
This determined student traveled some 65,000 miles in an old Jeep to earn two diplomas, one from his high school, the other from Roane State Community College.
For two years, Cole Ayres, 18, drove a 2001 Jeep Wrangler from his family’s Catoosa Road residence deep inside Morgan County to go to classes on Roane State’s Oak Ridge and Harriman campuses.
Those lengthy commutes paid off. Cole is the first Roane State student from Morgan County to complete the college’s Middle College program. With his associate degree in science already awarded, Cole graduates May 20 from Wartburg Central High School.
“He was very diligent to do whatever needed to be done to finish his college degree at the same time as his high school degree,” Michelle Adkisson said.
Adkisson, director of Roane State’s campus in Wartburg, said Cole “was willing to travel wherever he needed to go.” When the Wartburg campus didn’t have the courses he needed, Cole attended classes in Harriman and Oak Ridge.
“It had its moments where it was kind of overwhelming,” Cole said of his academic odyssey. “But overall, I was really happy with the way it allowed me to get my (college) degree.”
“I think it’s an excellent program,” said Cole. “My parents are proud of me.”
Cole is the son of Troy and Julie Ayres.
Roane State’s unique Middle College program gives eligible high school students the opportunity to complete four semesters of college while still attending high school.
“Cole and his family wanted him to complete his associate degree while in high school,” Adkisson said.
She met with Cole and “we mapped his college schedule out the summer before his junior year,” she said.
For his final Roane State semester, a typical Monday for Cole would include dropping his niece off at elementary school in Morgan County and driving to Roane State’s Roane County campus for a geology class.
Then it was back to the Morgan County campus for a history course.
On Tuesdays, Cole would again give his niece a ride before driving to Oak Ridge for a class in British literature followed by a pre-calculus course.
He attended a four-hour-long music appreciation class on Thursday nights in Wartburg.
Cole said his old Jeep, now with 212,000 miles on it, handled the long-distance workload without a hitch.
Now, it’s on to Tennessee Tech in Cookeville, where Cole will start as a junior and plans to major in biology. He said he’s likely going to pursue a career in medicine.
Roane State Community College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, ethnicity or national origin, sex, disability, age, status as protected veteran or any other class protected by Federal or State laws and regulation and by Tennessee board of Regents policies with respect to employment, programs, and activities. View full non-discrimination policy.
