Tripp and Halvorson earn Dakota College at Bottineau LEAP degrees

Stutsman County residents Tripp and Halvorson are among Dakota College at Bottineau’s LEAP graduates, putting local names on a program built to move high school students toward college credit faster. The dual-credit track is aimed at giving students an early start on higher education and the kind of preparation that can support leadership roles and job advancement in their own communities.

LEAP stands for Leading to Education and Advanced Preparation. Dakota College at Bottineau says the program lets high school students earn a Certificate of College Studies alongside their high school diploma, and the college has added LEAP Beyond for students who want to earn an Associate of Arts or Associate of Science at the same time, saving time and money.

Dakota College at Bottineau will hold its commencement ceremony at 3 p.m. Friday, May 15, in the gym in Thatcher Hall in Bottineau, and the event will also be streamed online. The ceremony gives the college a public stage to recognize students who have already completed college-level work before finishing high school, a step that can matter when they move on to campus, the workplace or community responsibilities.

The college said its 2025 LEAP class included 30 graduates. Of those, 26 were completing a Certificate of College Studies, two were completing a Certificate of Completion and two were completing an Associate of Science. Those students represented nine North Dakota high schools, and 20 planned to walk at commencement.

That scale shows why Tripp and Halvorson’s accomplishment resonates in Stutsman County. For students in Jamestown and neighboring communities, LEAP is less about a line on a transcript than a faster route into the next stage of education and work. By the time they leave high school, they can already have college credits in hand, a stronger academic record and a clearer path toward the responsibilities that come with college, employment and local leadership.