ABOVE: Ashley Bell, a senior at Fairmont High School, will be a student in the Occupational Therapy Doctorate program at Drake University this fall.

FAIRMONT– Ashley Bell, a Fairmont High School senior, will be enrolled as a student in the Occupational Therapy Doctorate program at Drake University this fall.

Bell and her family live in Blue Earth but she’s been open enrolling as a student at Fairmont High School since her freshman year.

“It’s a bigger school district with more kids to get to know. There are also a lot of opportunities,” Bell said.

She started out taking the regular, required classes that all students take. However, by the beginning of her junior year, Bell looked seriously at College in the School (CIS) and Postsecondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) classes.

“My goal was to see if I could chop off as much college as I possibly could,” Bell said.

While she said no one specifically gave her a push to pile on classes that would give her college credit, she figured it wouldn’t hurt.

“It’s like, I didn’t plan on applying for the doctoral program but a teacher, Mr. Segar, said, ‘what’s the worst that could happen,'” Bell said.

For the past two years, Bell has taken classes that not only meet the requirements for her high school diploma, but that also give her college credit.

She’s physically in the school building from 8 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. for CIS classes, which are taught by Fairmont High School teachers through accredited programs. Then she goes home to take her PSEO classes, which are all online.

She’s taken so many CIS and PSEO classes that she will be graduating from high school next month with 93 to 95 college credits under her belt.

The large number of credits are almost enough to grant Bell a bachelor’s degree, but she realized something else, too.

“It was enough to get me in a doctoral program. Their requirement was 92 credits and I had already started their prerequisites on top of the 92 credits,” Bell said.

In the fall, Bell will begin as a student in the Occupational Therapy Doctorate program at Drake University. However, she’ll have a busy summer before then.

“Starting June 5, I’ll be finishing my bachelor’s degree in psychology online through Grand Canyon University. It will be quick since I’m a majority of the way done. I thought I might as well finish it,” Bell said.

She has been in contact with Grand Canyon University, which will try to transfer her credits to Drake University. Bell’s other college credits have come from a variety of schools including Minnesota West, University of Northwestern-St. Paul and St. Cloud State University.

“I did a lot of research on my own. The second I figured out what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, I full-force went for it,” Bell said.

She has a relative in occupational therapy and has thought the field was interesting from a young age. She became more personally connected to the field when her father had a stroke last August.

“We had an occupational therapist in the home and I got to experience that,” Bell said.

She also works now at REM Heartland and enjoys helping clients with their daily life skills.

Once she knew what she wanted to do, Bell had to find a school, though it wasn’t a hard choice for her.

“Drake has a lot of connections within the state, around the country and in the world. They have connections in France, India… they’re widely known and very accredited,” Bell said.

She submitted her application to the doctoral program in February and physically traveled to Des Moines, Iowa, to tour the campus and go through an interview process at the end of March.

The woman who led the interview at Drake did not tell the panel Bell’s age because she didn’t want that to sway their opinions. Because the prerequisites to get into the program are so rigorous, Bell said during the interview they’re mostly judging a person’s personality and passion for the program.

Several days after the interview, Bell found out she was officially accepted.

Her parents, Corey and Cathy Bell, were “beyond happy” to hear the news.

“The doctoral program is expensive, but look how much I saved with undergrad,” Bell said.

She really likes that Drake University has its own occupational therapy building which has unique equipment and rooms set up like bedrooms and kitchens so that students are able to practice in real settings.

While Bell will get a taste of different areas in occupational therapy, such as children and youth and productive aging, she feels like she’s most interested in in-home occupational therapy.

Once she starts the program, it will take Bell three years to complete, which includes field work. She’ll be graduating with the privilege of having the title of Doctor by the time she’s 22.

“It’s crazy to me because that’s the age some people start the program,” Bell said.

Bell was told that she’s the first ever in Drake history to come straight from high school to a doctoral program.

“It’s definitely a unique situation that people haven’t seen before. It’s hard for me to relate to somebody else,” she said.

As she still has several more weeks left of high school, Bell is looking forward to the milestone markers of prom, which is this Saturday, and her high school graduation ceremony. After that, she can’t wait to get started in the doctoral program.

Bell shared some advice for students who may also be interested in pursuing a fast track when it comes to education.

“Stay organized but always take care of your mental health first,” she said.

Bell said once she found a balance between her school life and personal life, things became easier. Maintaining a social life and taking care of herself by spending time at the gym has been key to Bell’s success.

“I give Fairmont a lot of credit and I wouldn’t be able to do it without Mr. Geerdes giving me words of encouragement and advice,” Bell said.

“She’s a unique story from the very beginning. Her family chose to open enroll here, which is unique in itself. This is a great example of how our students academically are challenging and exceeding typical academic markers,” said Scott Geerdes, guidance counselor at Fairmont High School.

He said in his time as a school guidance counselor, which spans nearly 30 years, he has never seen a student graduate high school and go straight to a doctoral program.

“It’s truly a credit to her perseverance. The fact that she’s held down a part-time job during this time is also amazing. She’s a wonderful young lady and will do amazing things,” Geerdes said.