April 17, 2024 – What Do Homeschool Graduates Look Like?

Alexandria Letkeman

Homeschool Graduates: Overcomers and Achievers!

Homeschool graduates embody resilience, adaptability, and innovation, shaped by a unique educational journey that is both diverse and personalized. These experiences come with challenges, but they also pave the way for incredible stories of achievement and success.

Transitioning from a flexible home-learning environment to the structured settings of higher education and the workforce presents a significant challenge. The self-directed nature of homeschooling fosters valuable skills like self-motivation and discipline, which are invaluable for success in higher education and professional life. However, adapting to traditional educational and work settings can be an adjustment due to their more rigid structures.

Socialization, often cited as a concern for homeschoolers, is another area where homeschool graduates have to carve their own path. Despite the myth that homeschoolers lack social skills, many engage in various extracurricular activities, community service, and group learning opportunities that provide diverse social interactions. The challenge, then, is not in acquiring social skills but in navigating a world where their social experiences are often misunderstood or undervalued.

Despite these hurdles, homeschool graduates like Elizabeth “Ebee” Price, a 2014 homeschool graduate and U.S. Gymnastics team alternate in 2012, demonstrate the extraordinary achievements possible with the flexibility of homeschooling. Similarly, Suzanna Fitzgerald leveraged her homeschooling experience to innovate in the business world, turning a challenge in marketing her novel into a successful marketing business. These examples underscore the potential of homeschooling to prepare individuals for meaningful, impactful lives, reminding homeschooling parents of the unique opportunities this educational path offers.

For homeschooling parents, these stories are not just inspiring; they are a powerful reminder of the potential that lies in a homeschool education. The journey may be different, fraught with its own set of challenges, but it is a path that can lead to remarkable achievements. Homeschool graduates, with their diverse experiences and resilient spirits, are a testament to the effectiveness and potential of homeschooling to prepare individuals not just for academic success, but for meaningful, impactful lives.

Ack! What comes after homeschool graduation? If your student has graduated or will graduate soon, look at our article, Options After High School Graduation.

About the author

Alexandria Letkeman began homeschooling with her family in middle school and has recently graduated with honors in 2020. Together with her husband, she has developed a passion for financial literacy, classical writing, and the freedom that homeschooling provides. In pursuit of those passions, she and her husband aim to continue the legacy of The HomeScholar and continue helping homeschool parents homeschool with confidence. One day, Alex plans to start a homesteading farm in Texas featuring mini cows.

Apply today for Capernwray Harbour’s Bible School to discover Jesus Christ, and experience the transforming power of His indwelling Life.  Find out more at capernwray.ca

Hal and Melanie Young

Ordinary People

What do homeschool graduates look like? Why, they look like ordinary people!

It’s natural to wonder if you are really doing your kids a service to do something as different as homeschooling. Will they turn out okay? Will they get into college? Will they be able to function in society?

The good news is that homeschooling has gone on long enough that we know the answer to those questions–and it’s yes! Are there people who wish they hadn’t been homeschooled? Sure, there are, but generally the problem wasn’t homeschooling, but their dysfunctional families. You don’t have to be like that.

Much more common is the experience our seven adult kids have had. They’re having a conversation with college classmates or coworkers or colleagues and the topic of homeschooling comes up.

People: “My wife was thinking about homeschooling, but I don’t want our kids to be weird,” or “My mom’s thinking about homeschooling my younger sister, but I think she needs to learn to function in the real world.”

Homeschool grad: “I don’t think homeschooling makes you weird. I think you actually learn better how to interact in the adult world than if you were stuck in a classroom all the time. I was homeschooled all the way through until I went to college.”

People: “WHAT?? I had NO IDEA you were homeschooled!”

Homeschool grad: “Exactly.”

Those conversations have gotten less likely since 2020, though. Now, it’s more common for people to speak wistfully about homeschooling: “I wish I could work fewer hours so I could homeschool my kids,” or “I wish my parents could have homeschooled me,” or my kids have heard at college, “I wish I’d gotten the kind of education you did in homeschooling.”

So, what do homeschool grads look like? Like anyone else. Some are shy introverts; some have never met a stranger. Some might be pretty wealthy; others are making it on a shoestring, but making it. They might be entrepreneurs, university professors, software developers, farmers, or ministry workers. In fact, we have all those in our own family!

Focus on relationship and discipleship as you’re homeschooling and it’ll be okay. Seriously, don’t worry!

Your friends,
Hal & Melanie

PS. Download “How Not to Lose Your Teens” FREE here https://raisingrealmen.com/notloseteens.

About the author

Hal and Melanie Young have been homeschooling almost as long as they’ve been married, and they’re still happy with both decisions! They wrote My Beloved and My Friend: How to Be Married to Your Best Friend without Changing Spouses to encourage their young adults – find out more at raisingrealmen.com.

Online, Christian legal training: Equipping individuals with the knowledge and Biblical worldview to make an impact in the fields of law, business, and ministry. https://www.obcl.edu/

Chilor Thomas

The Flexibility of Homeschooling

If homeschooling were a sport, it would be gymnastics due to the flexibility it brings to one’s daily life. After thinking back over my homeschooled years, versatility and opportunity are the two words that come to mind. Starting dual-enrollment as a junior in high school, homeschooling allowed me the flexibility to undertake college courses alongside my homeschool curriculum.

Upon weighing the various options offered at a local community college, I decided to enroll in the machine tool program. After many credit hours, I was becoming proficient at blueprint reading, operating manual lathes and mills, and programming CNC machines. Things were going well. I was drawing closer to completing my degree with each semester—that is, until early 2020.

I graduated from homeschool in the spring and was preparing to continue to attend college. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and strict instructor/student ratios, the class schedules and environment were less than ideal. Because I was ahead of schedule (thanks to dual-enrollment and my homeschooling schedule), I decided to attend a public-service training program in East Texas for several months.

Once the pandemic protocols calmed down, I went back and completed my associate’s degree in machining. By the time I was 22 years old, I had a degree as well as various certifications both in the industrial and professional spheres. I credit a large part of these achievements to the many opportunities I was given because of the versatility of homeschooling.

Currently, I’m an independent contractor working in the construction sector. Once I gain more work experience, I hope to begin a career in the machining industry using my skills in my degree-specific field. It has been an exciting journey, and the experiences, knowledge, and abilities I have gained are irreplaceable. I want to encourage both the home educator and student when I say it is worth it. Who knows? Maybe your newest opportunity is just around the corner . . .

Madeline Mundell

From Homeschool to a Cybersecurity Career

What do homeschool graduates look like? Some look like me! I was homeschooled from fifth grade through high school graduation and in my high school years, I became interested in cybersecurity. I had the opportunity to participate on a FIRST® robotics team to learn coding and was also on a CyberPatriot team where I experienced a bit of the world of cybersecurity.

After graduating from homeschool high school, I decided to pursue a career in cybersecurity and attended Cedarville University to study computer science/cybersecurity. During that time, I had many amazing opportunities to participate in national cybersecurity competitions, CyberPatriot mentoring, and cyber awareness outreach. I completed a web design internship and two cybersecurity internships during my summers.

During my sophomore year, I received a Department of Defense scholarship that fully paid my tuition for my junior and senior years, as well as an internship in Washington, DC with the Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC), a stipend, and a job after graduation at NIWC.

After graduation, I moved to DC and started working as an information system security engineer doing risk assessment and compliance work for the Navy. After a year in DC, I got married, kept my job, but switched to fully remote, and moved to St. Louis. I enjoy working as a civilian for the Navy and doing an important job in my career of choice.

I love my job, love learning, and love teaching others about cybersecurity!

Does the transition from high school to college seem like a daunting task for you as a homeschool family? College Choice Guidance was created with you in mind where both student and parent will learn how to navigate the waters step-by-step from freshman year through graduation. This SchoolhouseTeachers.com course will help take the anxiety out of the path to higher education.