“When I was in eighth grade at East Dayton Christian School, I started looking at both the Dayton Regional STEM School and Ponitz for high school,” said Littlejohn, daughter of Darryl and Lenora Littlejohn. “I decided on Ponitz because of its programs and because it had sports.”
Littlejohn started in the allied heath field at Ponitz, and was looking at biomedical engineering. Ponitz and Sinclair offer several programs for high school students to earn dual credit, and Littlejohn chose the Advanced College Entry Program.
“By the second semester of my sophomore year, I was taking all of my classes at Sinclair, and, with the help of my Ponitz counselor, I received dual credit for both high school and college,” she said.
Although her coursework was done at Sinclair, Littlejohn stayed involved at her high school. She was captain of the Ponitz volleyball team during her freshman year and remained captain through this year’s season, made the all-city team three years, and was Player of the Year this year.
“At UD, I’ll just play for recreation so I can stay focused on my studies,” she said.
She was a member of the National Honor Society at Ponitz while also in the National Society of Leadership and Success at Sinclair.
“I’m so glad I selected Ponitz because of their relationship with Sinclair,” she said. The David H. Ponitz Career Technology Center is located just one block from Sinclair’s Technology Center.
Now, with an associate degree in chemistry under her belt, she’s set to start classes at UD this fall, majoring in electrical engineering.
“I took two engineering classes at Sinclair and did well and was interested,” she said. “UD’s accepted those credits and most of my other credits from Sinclair.”
She could have a degree in two years, but if she chooses to add a one-year internship to her studies, she’ll graduate in three years.
“I’d love to work at Wright Patterson Air Force Base afterward,” she said.
Three of Littlejohn’s classmates – Akeisha Hale, Daaryn’ah Willoughby and Marissa Hicklin – earned Sinclair credit their senior year through Ponitz’ Senior to Sophomore Program, and will begin college at the sophomore level.
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