Randy Mouw, principal of HomeConnection, honored Lauren Cribb at an Oak Harbor school board meeting May 29 as the first graduate of HomeConnection, which offers programs for homeschooled students.

Cribb is the first graduate to receive a degree from the Oak Harbor School District that isn’t from Oak Harbor High School in the 100 years OHSD has been in existence, Mouw said. Most HomeConnection students join the Running Start program at Skagit Valley College for their junior and senior years of high school instead of completing their schooling at HomeConnection.

Cribb completed her junior and senior years of high school while earning credit for her freshman and sophomore years of college through the school’s dual credit system, Mouw said.

Schooling “outside of the box” worked for her, Cribb told the board.

Cribb has kept busy. Every summer, she worked three jobs and only took time off to attend programs at American, Brown and Stanford universities. Recently, she earned the prestigious Yates Award from Skagit Valley College.

This fall, Cribb plans to attend Willamette University and study political science, with the goal of attending law school.