WACO, Texas (KWTX) - When Hailey Hartline walked across the stage at Midway High School in May, she carried two diplomas: a high school diploma and an associate of arts degree in general studies - making her one of the first students in Midway history to do so, and the only one among the school's 706 graduates this year.

Hartline, 18, began working toward her associate degree her freshman year through a combination of dual credit and dual enrollment courses at McLennan Community College.

Dual credit classes counted toward both Midway and MCC credit, while dual enrollment courses counted only toward MCC credit.