After graduating from Schoolcraft College, Maggie Jagielski plans to attend Wayne State University in the fall, with the hope of graduating with her bachelor’s degree next year.
Maggie Jagielski was eager to begin her college career. So eager that she began it in high school.
Jagielski, a Livonia Franklin High School graduate, began looking at places to attend college during her time there. After doing some searching and realizing she had some open hours, she discovered dual enrollment and asked a counselor about opportunity. She was told it was an option for her and she enrolled. Even before earning her high school diploma, Jagielski had already completed four college courses.
“I don’t think I would have been as eager to do it if my senior schedule at Franklin was more extreme, but knowing that I had like three or three hours of my day, I was like, “Oh, I might as well be earning college credits,’” she said. “I said, ‘if I can save money this way, I’m going to.’”
That drive gave her a head start when she began as a student at Schoolcraft College two years ago. Today, she’s preparing to walk the stage at the College’s 60th Annual Commencement taking place May 3, where Jagielski will serve as a student marshal escorting her class.
As a first-generation college student, Jagielski searched all around for scholarships to help pay for school. She eventually became a Schoolcraft College Foundation Scholar, which covered a large amount of her college costs and led her to meeting some wonderful people through the Foundation. Learning about the Michigan Transfer Agreement and being able to make sure her credits would properly be applied to a bachelor’s degree coming out of Schoolcraft College was also an important factor when Jagielski was looking at colleges.
A true passion early on for Jagielski was finding out about the Schoolcraft Honors Scholars Program. After learning about it in high school, Jagielski reached out to Errin Stegich-Moloney, the program’s director. She remembers Stegich-Moloney being caught off-guard after hearing from a high school student, but believed that showed her dedication early.
“I was sitting in my high school library and Errin was like, ‘Oh, are you at work right now?’ And I say, ‘I’m at school.’ and she said, ‘Where did you go to school?’ And I said, ‘I’m in high school.’ And she goes, ‘What? You know you have to wait until you’re in college to do this, right?’” Jagielski said. “That was a very funny moment and that definitely kicked off mine and Aaron’s relationship.”
Since enrolling, Jagielski spent plenty of time getting involved with the Honors program, including on her capstone project, which saw her and a classmate assisting a senior citizen. Her academic career has also led her to being a semifinalist for the Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship, one of the most prestigious scholarships given to two-year college students in the country.
Her dedication and actions to enroll in college classes early will also give her a head start in the fall when she begins classes at Wayne State University: between her dual enrollment and heavy course load, Jagielski plans to graduate with her bachelor’s degree in business administration in just three years. And one of the best parts for her? She’ll still be taking several classes on Schoolcraft College’s campus through Wayne State’s satellite offerings in the Jeffress Center.
Her time here at Schoolcraft has set her up well to begin the journey of her ultimate goal: working in the automotive industry, seeking to become the next Mary Barra.
While her journey won’t take her far from the Livonia campus, she acknowledges it just won’t be the same.
“I’m going to miss all of the connections I built with the staff and faculty here,” she said. “Schoolcraft is the second home to me, and it’s gonna be really sad to not be able to like, just walk into Erinn’s office whenever I please.”