Owen Reuter’s non-traditional path to high school graduation gave him opportunities he would not otherwise have had.
Owen Reuter started off going to Lancaster Schools, then in his 8th grade year he came to Potosi Schools. Owen stayed in Potosi Schools for a couple of years, but once his sophomore year came, he went home-schooled. The main reasons why Owen made his choice were that some of the classes were not what Owen had in mind for his career choice, besides the core classes, and he wanted to make money and have all the work experience he has now for welding.
The benefits of being homeschooled are that you can get your work done as fast as you want, work as far ahead as you want, the school day is a lot shorter, and you have more time to do things.
The drawbacks of being homeschooled were that staying focused was harder, he didn’t have many resources for help, and everything was on a computer, says Owen. Not going to high school before going straight to college allowed Owen to have jobs at Leibfried Feed and Gary's Welding for a bit, allowing him to make more money than he did while attending school.
Owen wanted to start college as early as possible because he wanted to start his career once he graduated. Owen attended college at South West Tech and earned a welding certificate. He said that it's a lot of fun going there, and it's worth it for the welding experience. Owen still has this year before he graduates from SWTC, but he has been going for two years now.
Owens' goal is to get a high-paying job and work as many hours as possible to “make bank” as young as possible. When asked if he missed anything about school, Owen said, “Not really.”