Josh Anderson performs in a Pianothon event at Towne Center Mall in January.

    One of DEHP's youngest students is making his mark in the Atlanta arts scene as a rising musical talent.  Josh Anderson, 15, a homeschooled student from Woodstock, is a classical pianist who comes from a musical family.  He began taking music lessons at age five from his grandmother, a retired music teacher, and quickly showed an aptitude for the piano.  At age 14, he was asked to play for a Three Tenors concert with Capital City Opera, and soon began accompanying his father, tenor Neal Anderson, in concerts throughout the Atlanta area.  In 2014, he entered and won the Cherokee's Got Talent youth competition, playing Chopin's Heroic Polonaise.

    The same year, Joshua and his father formed the group Piano Forte, competed in the adult level of Cherokee's Got Talent, and tied for second place.  Piano Forte recently filmed a segment for locally-produced television pilot, Music Court TV.  

    Since becoming a dual enrollment student, Josh has begun studing with KSU's Artist in Residence, Dr. Robert Henry.  In addition to performing, and participating in piano competitions at the local, state and regional level, Josh has ventured into composing, writing several short pieces for piano and strings.  He was recently awarded a scholarship by the Cherokee Music Teachers Association to attend a summer piano "intensive" camp.  In addition to these activities,  he serves as a pianist for Grace Bible Church and plays acoustic guitar there as well. 

    Because he completed high school curriculum on an accelerated basis through his homeschool program, Josh was only 14 when he applied for the DEHP program.  "It was intimidating being the youngest student in all my classes at first," Josh says, "but I discovered that most people don't treat you differently because you're young.  Also, group projects really helped me to get to know different people in my classes."

    "We were a little cautious, but optimistic," says Josh's father.  "The results speak for themselves, however."  Josh earned a 4.0 in a full-time  college load in Fall semester, including taking courses in Italian, which help give him insights into the operatic repertoire he performs.  He is on track to complete 24 college credit hours by the end of the current term, and will return to DEHP for his senior year in 2015-16.

  "Our hope is that he will complete four semesters in dual enrollment and earn around 50 credit hours prior to graduating as a dually-enrolled homeschooler," says his dad. 

    "While I'm much busier than in the past, dual enrollment does continue to give me the flexibility I need to spend time on piano," Josh says.  Outside of his music and his KSU courses, Josh is working to complete his Eagle Scout rank in the Boy Scouts, which he hopes to accomplish this summer.

Donovan Sienkiewicz encourages other DEHP students to apply to MIT.

   "I almost didn't apply to MIT, and that would have been a huge mistake, because I absolutely love it here," he said.  He intends to major in Mechanical Engineering and hopes to eventually pursue a career in the robotics field.  

   "Dual enrollment was really helpful for me in transitioning from the high school class setting to the college on," Donovan said. He completed Calculus I and II and Principles of Physics as a DEHP student, among other classes.  Because of this, he was able to get advanced standing and jump to more advanced classes in these subjects.   He quickly found he had to adapt his study strategies.     

"To say I had to study more would be an under-statement.  I have had to completely change my study habits.  Getting things done in one night and studying five minutes before a test is not an option anymore," he said.  The flip side, he notes, is "it's also really nice to be taking classes that are challenging me beyond belief.  It's fun and it feels so much better to make a good grade than it used to."

    Surviving Boston's record snowfall this year made his first year at MIT especially memorable.  Walking through the snow was a nuisance, he said, "especially after it stopped being beautiful."  However, he shares a badge of honor with other Boston-area residents.  "We beat the [snowfall] record, so it's kind of like an accomplishment to have dealt with it."

    Donovan encourages other DEHP students to consider applying to MIT.  His own academic credentials included strong ACT scores (ACT MATH score of 30 and ACT English score of 28), a rank of second in his graduating class, and completion of eight AP courses and seven KSU courses. 

    In addition to demonstrating academic ability, he recommends that prospective students use the college admissions interview to showcase their personal attributes.  "This school is all about kindness, community, and teamwork, and the admissions people do a fantastic job of finding people who fit [this]," he explains.  "The best advice I can give is to relax during your interview and remember that you are talking to a person, not a machine.  With as much respect as possible, treat your interviewer as if he is your friend and show off your real personality skills."  And, he adds, "Don't worry about fitting in, because I have yet to meet someone here who is completely normal!"

    As he considers his first year at the elite university, Donovan notes that, "The most surprising thing about MIT is how much fun I've had since getting here.  I was so worried that all I would have time to do is study and do homework, but once I found the balance, I realized how much more this school had to offer."

    "I'm learning so much," he said, "not just about the sciences, but about myself and the world, too.  I've learned about all kinds of new cultures, I've begun learning how to take care of myself and I've realized a lot about myself as a person."