The average high school student already has a lot on their plate. Several students often struggle with organizing their schedule and classes, with it being even harder for people who are working a job, doing a school sport, and also going to college classes. Landon Williams (11) is a student who follows a busy schedule to become successful as well as get ahead of the crowd.

“On an average day of school I start with concert choir, then move to US history, then now on Mondays and Wednesdays, I drive over to Pellissippi State Community College for dual enrollment classes. Afterward, I return to school and finish my day with the band, followed by after-school track practice,” Williams said.

Managing a busy schedule takes a lot of planning and balance. Williams came up with a smart plan to stay on track.

“I balance my things by usually taking all day to do a little bit of everything. School takes the majority of my day, afterwards, I have track practice until usually 5. Then I go home and do work for my dual enrollment classes, then practice for whichever band thing I need. I fortunately only work on weekends so I don’t need to worry about work during the school week,” Williams said.

Choosing this busy lifestyle has heavily influenced Williams with his future and making sure he gets the classes he would like to take.

“I chose this schedule to be able to maximize the number of credits I could earn this school year and so I could fit all of my core classes with my electives,” Williams said.

With balancing all of these classes, sports, and musical life, his days are full of hard work which allows him to accomplish much.

“The benefit of having a schedule like this is that I’m able to learn how college life would go and my goal is to be able to accomplish all that I can in the amount of time I have,” Williams said.

Local community colleges allow high school students to take some of their classes in high school to allow the students to get ahead of the curve and prepare for college.

“I’m taking my classes at Pellissippi State Community College and I’ve enjoyed all of my classes so far. I’m taking my classes there because they could fit classes comfortably with my high school classes,” Williams said.

Williams has been preparing himself for college and because of his planning, he knows exactly what he wants to do.  

“Not having to take some courses in college will be nice for sure, but also taking these classes lets me get the feel for college and know what to expect to a certain degree,” Williams said.

Landon Williams went above and beyond and found great ways to stay busy and get ahead in his collegiate career.