Richland student graduates early, sets sights on St. Francis this fall

Aug. 17—JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — In just a few days, Richland High School graduate Nathan Bowes will start his freshman year at St. Francis University — a full year ahead of the classmates with whom he went through school.

Utilizing virtual learning through Appalachia Intermediate Unit 8 offered by Richland, Bowes graduated a year early.

"I feel accomplished and jaw-dropped about it," he said.

The 17-year-old's virtual learning venture began similar to most in the past few years, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Because of concern about the virus's spread, he and his eighth-grade classmates spent some of the 2019-20 school year learning from home and part of the following term as well.

After that stint of cyber education, when the new school year came around for 2020-21, Bowes, then a freshman, said he wasn't ready to return and instead asked his parents to enroll him in Richland's cyber offering.

Bowes enjoyed that environment more because it allowed him to work at his own pace, and his grades improved.

"Virtual learning was so much better," his mother, Amanda Bowes, said.

He kept up with the digital education through 10th grade and into 11th grade when the opportunity to take extra courses presented itself.

As Nathan Bowes kept chipping away at classes, his mother noticed last fall that he needed just two classes to graduate early, so she contacted the guidance counselor to see if that was a possibility.

She was told it was, and her son began the process of completing his secondary career and walked with the Richland class of 2023.

Typically, students begin the process of graduating early during their sophomore year, and, according to Richland's requirements, a student must earn at least 25 credits split among core classes, such as English, science and mathematics, to do so — although other pathways exist.

James Bowes, the student's father, still can't believe the teen, who turned 17 just a month before graduating this year, is ready for college already.

"We're so proud of him," James Bowes said.

Nathan Bowes credits his grandfather, Ron Stiles, for instilling in him a sense of pride related to learning.

"He has always expressed how important it is to always work hard and to get a great education," he said.

The early graduate is set to study engineering at St. Francis when classes begin Monday, and he'll also be a member of the esports team on campus.

To help with affording college, Nathan Bowes has been awarded the PepsiCo Foundation Scholars Scholarship, the Sunnehanna Goettlicher Vetock Scholarship, the St. Francis University Presidential Scholarship and the St. Francis University eSports Athletic Scholarship.

This funding will allow him to earn his degree virtually for free, his parents said, which they described as a "huge relief."

Amanda Bowes added that the financial help is a blessing.

Nathan Bowes said he looks forward to his time at St. Francis and getting to further his pursuit of engineering.