December 16, 2016

By Blair Koch, University Communications and Marketing, 657-2269

Conner Meron, 17, and a senior at Billings West High School, is pursuing credits towards a nursing degree. His sister, 16-year-old Katie Meron is doing the same. She’s a junior.

This week has been hectic but both say the pressure from taking advanced classes is nothing they can’t handle.

“A lot of our classmates don’t really understand what it takes to be successful at this level,” Conner said, laughing.

Katie added, “these classes that we are taking, they are like high school just fast-paced.”

This semester both are taking as many dual credit courses as available to them.

The partnership through Montana State University Billings and City College at MSUB and School District 2 means neither has to attend classes on campus, but get credit for taking advanced classes at their high school, or at the Career Center.

For instance, one of Conner’s finals was for Emergency Medical Technician class. Part of the quiz included a quick-moving role play where he had to “assess” a medical emergency and go through the steps in evaluating the patient and scene.

“The first dual-credit class we took was an interpersonal communications class and it was the best class we could have taken to get us started,” she said. “The professor was so great and we did so well that it really gave us the confidence we needed to decide to keep going.”

After Conner graduates from BWH this spring he’s set to deploy to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, as a member of the U.S. Army National Guard.

However, he plans on returning to Billings and enrolling at MSUB to complete a bachelor degree in nursing.

“I really want to run cross country for school,” he said. “And I may switch over to (physician assistant) program, but I have a lot of time to think about that.”

Katie agrees, and is simply excited to be building her college-level course repertoire in order to be more prepared for whatever the future holds.

“I really like kids, so I’m thinking about working as a NICU nurse,” she said. “I like the fact these courses are getting me ready now.”