Teen graduates from college before high school

A Colorado Springs teenager earned his bachelor’s degree Friday, before getting his high school diploma or driver’s license.

At 17, Jacob Reichard graduated with a Bachelor of Innovation in Computer Security degree from the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs College of Engineering and Applied Science.

“We are very proud of course,” his mom, Hidye Fletcher said.

Reichard has been exceeding expectations since before he was born. His mom said while she was pregnant, there were complications, and doctors told her if he survived, he would be developmentally disabled. But when Reichard was in elementary school, even the gifted program wasn’t challenging enough for him. He began home school in fifth grade, and in eigth grade, when it was nearly time for high school, he was college-ready.

Through the double enrollment program at Colorado Springs Early Colleges, Reichard enrolled at UCCS at age 13.

“(It was) scary, very scary,” he said. “I spent the first class just kind of curled up in my little shell ball, and I came home that night, and I was scared. The professor was intimidating, I kind of wanted to quit right then and there.”

Reichard said he decided to take the challenge week by week, and over time, things got better. But there were still challenges.

“UCCS, their engineering program is extremely rigorous, and I was subjected to the exact same rigor that was expected of another college student,” he said.

There were also many sacrifices. Fletcher said Reichard didn’t have much time to go out with friends. And he often had long days, having class at 7:30 or 8 a.m. And staying up between midnight and 2 a.m.

“As a college student that’s not unusual, but for somebody that is 13 and 14 year old, his body physically, was still growing as a young boy,” she said.

Finances were another hurdle for the family. Because Reichard didn’t have a high school diploma, he was disqualified from receiving scholarships.

“We prayed a lot, we did garage sales, there were just a lot of really things we knew were kind of miraculous. People in the community helped, friends helped,” Fletcher said.

Most of all, Fletcher and Reichard say they are grateful for the opportunity of reaching this accomplishment and for everyone who helped. Reichard said others can do it too.

“Be unreasonable. Make that difference,” he said. “Take that step out into the unknown, and really you end up doing stuff that will surprise both you and everybody around you.”