Early College Student on Direct Path to App State

March 19, 2025 - Richmond Community College student Diana McLester was recently accepted into the Aspire Appalachian coadmission program, which means she has guaranteed admission to Appalachian State University for the 2026 fall semester.

Aspire Appalachian is a seamless pathway for students enrolled at RichmondCC to complete their degree at App State. Students participating will receive dedicated advising assistance from both RichmondCC and Appalachian State University, and access to special webinars, events, and newsletters.

“I learned about the Aspire Appalachian program through one of the Appalachian State representatives who visited RichmondCC and through one of my friends,” Diana said. “Since Appalachian State is one of my top two college choices, I thought this transfer program would be beneficial to me.”

Diana attends RichmondCC through the Richmond Early College High School (REaCH) program. At the start of the 2026 fall semester, however, she will also be considered a student of App State. She will graduate from RichmondCC in 2027 with both her high school diploma and an Associate in Arts degree

“The fact that I have guaranteed admissions is excellent, and I am excited about attending Appalachian State University,” Diana said.

At App State, Diana plans to major in communication studies and disorders.

“I want to get a master’s degree in Speech Language Pathology and become a certified speech pathologist,” Diana said.

Diana is glad she chose to enroll in the REaCH program and attend college at RichmondCC.

“With the REaCH program, I am able to earn an associate degree and take classes that I need before I attend a four-year university. It gave me a boost to achieve my goals faster, and I am very grateful to have had this opportunity,” Diana said.

Aspire Appalachian is one of 11 guaranteed admissions programs that RichmondCC has to offer students. The others are:

• UNC- Chapel Hill (C-STEP)
• East Carolina University (Pirate Promise)
• NC State University (C3)
• NC A&T State University (Aggie Plus Program)
• UNC-Pembroke (BraveStep)
• UNC-Wilmington (PathWays)
• Gardner-Webb University (Bulldog Bound)
• Lees-McRae University (GAP)
• Pfeiffer University (Pfeiffer Pact)
• Wingate University (Gateway Scholarship)

To learn more, visit the Career & Transfer Advising Center at either campus of RichmondCC or call (910) 410-1700.