Butler student earns associate degree before high school diploma
Sydni Rodgers, a Butler Township home school student, said her desire to make a difference and her love of kids motivates her to progress in higher education.
At just 18, Sydni is graduating with an associate degree in criminology on Wednesday, before completing her high school graduation.
“I want to make the world a better place, and I know by doing that, I’ve got to put in some hard work somewhere,” Sydni said.
Sydni’s parents, Chuck and Kellie Rodgers, described her as strong-willed since a young age. After the COVID-19 pandemic shut down schools in 2020, her parents noticed a change in Sydni’s grades. The ability to work at her own pace allowed her to excel in her classes.
“So seventh grade, when that year rolled around, they pulled me out of brick-and-mortar schools and put me into home school,” Sydni said.
During Sydni’s freshman year of high school, Kellie Rodgers learned about the Arizona State University Dual Enrollment program: ASU Universal Learner Courses. The courses, she said, are only $25 and aren’t immediately added to the student’s transcript.
If the student passes the class, they can pay an extra fee to have it added to a transcript. This model worked for Sydni, giving her the chance to try out college classes without the fear of being penalized if they didn’t go well. They quickly realized, however, that Sydni didn’t need the protection.
Sydni said she and her college career benefited from support from her family.
“I’ve had the support of both of my parents, all of my friends, my entire family,” Sydni said. “Everyone’s been there. They love seeing what I’m doing.”
As she continued to pass the college courses, she broadened her horizons even more, branching out to other universities. She took courses through Butler County Community College, Liberty University, Slippery Rock University and Grand Canyon University to meet the requirements to graduate with a criminology associate degree from BC3.
“ASU didn’t necessarily have a criminology degree, so they didn’t have all the classes. So you could go to different colleges and just make sure they all transfer into BC3,” Sydni said.
For the summer, Sydni has her eye on the BC3 Emergency Medical Services Academy’s summer session. The EMS academy is a program she’s been interested in for a while, but wasn’t old enough to enroll in until now.
“I always wanted a job where I could help people. I started off originally with forensic science, and then realized I could not hack the math and science, but I still wanted an area in criminology,” Sydni said.
During her time at BC3, she’s been recognized on the President’s List and has been inducted into Phi Theta Kappa, the two-year college’s international honor society. Sydni said these were both great surprises, especially knowing her father was also in Phi Theta Kappa during his time at BC3.
The next step in education for Sydni is double majoring in homeland security and corporate security at SRU with a minor in criminology. She decided on SRU because she had been on the Slippery Rock Eels Swim Team and had taken volleyball training camps on the campus. She also noted the college was a good choice for her major.
“I know SRU pretty well. It has one of the best homeland security programs,” Sydni said.
Post-graduation, Sydni hopes to go work for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Sydni said one of her professors, Steven Shaffer, inspired her with stories of cases from his years as a police officer.
Outside of education, Sydni also helps family friends with their children. She said she babysits for an entire extended family of cousins.
“I love them all — they’re my favorite part of the week,” Sydni said.
Sydni applies her early experience on the swim team to her job as swim instructor for the British Swim School. She started as a lifeguard when she was 15, but shortly transitioned to teaching as well. Now, having been with the swim school for a year, she does a variety of jobs around the pool.
“I started out young. They called me a fish in the water,” Sydni said.
During Sydni’s free time, she plays volleyball, tennis, shoots archery and hangs out with friends.
Applying her love of kids to other activities, she started volunteering with youth at 14 years old. Her first volunteer position was volleyball coaching for Pittsburgh Elite, teaching volleyball to 2- to 5-year-olds.
“That was always fun,” Sydni said. “I love kids, I love being around them.”
Sydni is active with many areas of her church. She’s performed in two choir groups, served as a Sunday school teacher and taught vacation bible school in the summer. Her four years of teaching Sunday school classes to first- through third-grade children gives her hope that she can help the next generation flourish.
“I love working with the younger kids, watching them grow, watching them learn. It’s always fun and exciting,” Sydni said. “A lot of the younger kids see me, see what I do, so hopefully that’ll inspire them to keep going and maybe try to do the same.”
