“I have not met one person at PennWest that isn’t willing to help and doesn’t want you to succeed. Everyone will help you, direct you to the right person.” That support turned Addison Gregory’s bold high-school decision into a college head start—38 credits before graduation and a clear path toward dentistry.

Addison discovered dual enrollment as a sophomore. “I started in fall of 2023… my school got a grant… all of my courses were being supplied to me for free. And I immediately knew this was an opportunity that I could not pass up.” She took seven PennWest courses—including Introduction to Business and Elements of Statistics—and arrived on campus as a first-semester sophomore majoring in Biology with an Honors minor.

Her why is personal. “I had really, really bad teeth when I was in elementary school… people would call me Mater from the movie Cars. I became fascinated with the way my orthodontist rearranged my smile and brought my confidence back. I was like, this is what I want to do for other people.”

When the leap to college-level work felt intimidating, Addison built a network. She reached out to the California campus, connected with faculty in biology, and mapped out courses that aligned with her goals. That outreach—and PennWest’s culture of care—made the difference: “I felt so comfortable going into that first course ’cause I had some background knowledge and I knew that I had a support system behind me.”

Balancing four sports, school and college classes took discipline. Mornings were for checking one course; evenings for the second; Sundays became “favorite” work time. Along the way, dual enrollment didn’t just shorten time to degree—it sparked new interests. “I took a business course in the spring of my senior year, and I’m actually going to add a minor in Business to my degree now because I enjoyed it so much.”

Her advice to high-school students? “I would tell them to 100% do it. Your professors are there to help you succeed… You’re ahead of the game a little bit. You know how things operate, how things work, where assignments are due.”

Dual enrollment wasn’t only about earning credits early for Addison—it was about confidence, community, and momentum toward a future where she’ll help others smile.