Published: May 27, 2009 06:57 pm      

A different route for Career Academy graduate

Mosier Stephens didn’t mind skipping his senior prom.

After all, he and his girlfriend went to the prom in 2008. Stephens, nattily dressed in a suit instead of his usual casual attire, said his friends didn’t recognize him then.

“Everybody had to take a second look,” the 18-year-old Stephens said. “‘Is that you?’”

Stephens is among some 70 students at the Whitfield County Career Academy who will go through graduation exercises Thursday afternoon. But Stephens has taken a different route. He’s already graduated and is taking classes at Northwestern Technical College in Rock Spring. Stephens will walk at graduation Thursday and receive his diploma.

Stephens was worried there would be a waiting list for the heating and air program at Northwestern Tech this fall, so he decided to graduate in December.

Leaving high school early meant Stephens would miss many of the senior year activities, including the prom. He played on the defensive line for the Northwest Whitfield High School football team and also was an Eagle Scout. Other than those interests, Stephens said he wasn’t into many school activities. He was ready to leave high school and earn money.

“They gave me the opportunity to graduate early and I jumped on it,” Stephens said. “I thought, ‘Well, I’ll go to work.’”

He had already experienced a variety of jobs working with automobiles and in construction, fast food, landscaping and woodworking. He works for Duckett’s Service in Dalton “every now and then.” In addition to college classes, he’s also started a business: Mosier’s Handyman Service. So far Stephens and his helper have completed 16 jobs, from heating and air work to rebuilding a barn. His business slogan is simple: “We do most any work.”

Stephens was born and raised in Varnell. During his first two years at Northwest Whitfield, Stephens admits he was in trouble “a lot.” His parents, Shandell and Marylou Stephens, pushed him through Eagle Scouts. He didn’t think traditional schooling fit his personality. Stephens met his girlfriend Jazmin Hilley in math class; she also attended the Career Academy part time. She talked him into going there for his junior and senior years. Hilley will also graduate from the Career Academy Thursday.

“It was more lenient,” Stephens said of the Career Academy. “With the dress code, it wasn’t so ‘Oh, you’ve got a hole in your pants. Go to the office.’ You had an hour and a half for lunch. Classes were a little bit shorter. The way that they handled things over there was just totally different. It wasn’t so uptight on stuff.”

He chose the heating and air program because workers in that industry are in high demand. Stephens considered becoming a diesel mechanic. However, that program takes two to three years compared to the 15 months the heating and air program requires. So far, adjusting to college course work hasn’t been too difficult, Stephens said. He’s taken classes in electric motors, gas furnaces and heat pumps.

“If you’re not serious about it, I wouldn’t advise going early,” Stephens said. “If you hated high school, I wouldn’t advise you going straight into college.”

Stephens hopes to have a company with two or three employees and several company trucks. But all of that depends on the economy. As far as advice to students now, Stephens tells them to “Live it up and have fun.”

“If you want to go out and try something, do it,” Stephens said. “If not, then don’t. Some people like to go jumping off bridges, some people don’t.”



The Whitfield County Career Academy graduation will be Thursday at 5 p.m. at the Northwest Georgia Trade and Convention Center. There will be approximately 70 graduates.