Ty Lyon is well on his way to becoming an attorney. As a recent graduate of the Texas Tech University School of Law, he is anxiously awaiting his scores from the bar exam, which he took this past week. The scores won’t be released for five weeks for the two-day, six-hours-each-day exam consisting of 200 multiple-choice questions and several essays.
But before Lyon made the big leap to law school, he graduated from Texas A&M with a major in English and a minor in history in three-and-a-half years, thanks to his time at MacArthur High School.
Lyon graduated from MacArthur with a transcript full of Advanced Placement (AP) courses. The rigorous coursework included AP English, Biology, US History, Government, Economics, Calculus and World History. Because he scored so high on the AP exams, Lyon was able to shave 16 to 18 college credit hours off of his college course load. In total, Lyon calculated that his AP coursework saved him $8,000.
But that’s not all AP courses did for him. They also introduced him to an incredibly talented group of teachers. In fact, Lyon admits math wasn’t his strongest subject. But taking Mr. Jeff Tillerson’s AP Calculus class was really helpful to build his knowledge and skills.
“Mr. Tillerson knew how to teach. In fact, the AP Calculus exam was one of my best AP test scores,” Lyon says proudly. “Tillerson was an Aggie, and he got me interested in going there.”
Lyon believes that the AP courses he took in high school prepared him for college and even gave him a head start compared to his Aggie peers.
“Doing AP coursework prepared me. It’s more rigorous and prepares you more for what a college professor is looking for,” he says. “I was more prepared for college than my peers.”
Lyon highly encourages high school students to take the rigorous coursework, too. The AP experience – the curriculum, the teachers, the classmates – provides a strong foundation for a bright future.
Students wanting that same experience as Ty can contact their high school counselor. A quick conversation with the counselor can afford more opportunities than imaginable. Just ask Ty – he’s living proof.
