Beatrice Wambui may be young, but she’s got big plans.

At just 16, the Kentlake High School student already has a national leadership law forum under her belt, and she’s continuing her studies in earnest, in hopes of pursuing a law degree.

“I’m dedicated to want to be a lawyer,” said Wambui, a Kenyan-born teenager who is now a U.S. citizen and speaks English along with Swahili and Kikuyu, the last two the languages of her former homeland.

She wants to practice family law.

“I’ve always wanted to look out for children,” the Covington teenager said.

Thanks to a pilot program between the University of Washington and Kent School District, Wambui may be getting a heightened chance of attaining her dream.

In coming years, she could be starting at the UW with her freshman year already behind her.
Called the University of Washington Accelerated Learning Program, the new alliance between Kent and the Huskies operates similar to Running Start. But instead of earning an Associate’s Degree at a community or technical college as a graduating high-school senior, students who pass their coursework in the UW Accelerated Learning Program can start their university career as sophomores. Due to an agreement between the UW and the Kent School District, they could be learning their way through their freshman year in college, while still in high school.

While there is a fee attached to the program (for administrative costs), UW officials are touting the program as a way to help reduce the larger cost of paying for that freshman year if it were actually completed at the UW.

For Wambui, the program definitely holds promise. She’s encouraged by the coursework, which is rigorous, but which also should make the transition from high school to college academics less of an issue.

“It kind of builds your endurance,” she said.

She’s also hopeful that some kind of assistance could be made available to students who take the challenge.

“You have to pay for the college credit,” she said. “I think there should be a foundation board to help students (with the costs.)”

The premise of the program is simple: high-school students can earn a UW Accelerated Program certificate after they successfully complete the 45-credit program, through their high school, and during the summer on the UW campus. The college-credit courses in the high school do differ from college in one way – they go for the length of a school year, versus a semester in college. That way, high-school students can more easily digest the higher-level coursework, as part of that transition to the faster-paced college atmosphere.

The UW Accelerated Program is actually an outshoot of a program that’s been around a lot longer – UW in the High School. That program has been in operation for 30 years, introducing high-school students to UW coursework in humanities, world languages, math, science and history. Last year, according to UW records, that program reached more than 2,700 students in 60 schools statewide.

The new accelerated program begins this winter in the Kent School District – and that’s it, so far. UW officials chose the Kent School District as the recipient of the pilot program, due to the district’s diverse student population and early commitment to the program.

During a Feb. 11 press conference, Kent Schools Superintendent Edward Lee Vargas expressed excitement about the alliance between the school district and the university.

“I’m excited about our UW partnership and the tremendous opportunities for our students as we focus on accelerating equity and excellence in college and career readiness for all,” he said.

For Wambui, that’s the kind of thinking she experiences on a daily basis, thanks to a family life that places a high priority on getting an education.

Her mother, Julia Dawson, is currently enrolled in college, and the whole family goes to the library four evenings a week to study.

Wambui, who hopes to someday attend an Ivy-League school like Harvard or Yale, said she also feels responsible for setting a good example for her two younger brothers and a baby sister.

“I’m setting the track for them,” she said.”If I continue to work hard, they’ll follow in my footsteps.”
To learn more, contact your local Kent high school or Janis Bechtel, the district’s executive director of career and college preparations, at 253-373-7500.