Wake County teen graduates from NC State in one year, advocates for dual enrollment benefits

A former Wake County student recently graduated from NC State University in just one year as valedictorian and at only 19 years old.

2025-01-15

Now as a Wolfpack alum, he has become devoted to sharing with other current high school students and their families on the opportunities and resources available for them to complete college courses while in high school.

“It can be a lot of difficulty to navigate a program like this, especially when you are in high school [and] you already have other obligations,” said Richard Basile, a former Panther Creek High School student.

While attending Panther Creek, Basile took dual enrollment courses at Wake Tech Community College through the states Career & College Promise (CCP) program that allows high school students to enroll in college level courses at any North Carolina community college and university through their high school. 

Basile began the program in the 11th grade and upon graduating in 2023, he had already accumulated 70 college credit hours.

“I came to NC State with already junior status,” Basile said.

He enrolled at NC State in the Spring of 2024, taking 15 credit hours while still taking some courses at the local community college.

However, during his second and final semester at NC State, Basile had enrolled in 24 credits at state and six at Sandhills Community College, totaling in 30 hours total. To some this may seem difficult, but for Basile he jokingly said the worst part was the “walk from class to class.”

“That is what took up the chunk of the day,” Basile said.

Now as an alum, Basile takes time to educate parents and current high school students on the CCP program and other resources available to them.

“This is a great way to save money if you are a parent, and if you’re a student, this is a great way to get ahead,” Basile said.

He helps students with the CCP application, how to register for classes and helps to answer questions on what types of classes students should take, even if they are not fully sure of what they want to study in college yet.

“I really got them thinking about what they wanted for their careers,” Basile said.

Basile plans to continue his education pursuing a degree in law. He has already received a full-time job offer with Cisco as a communications specialist.